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Multiple-Meaning Words

A multiple-meaning word is spelled and said the same way but means different things: a bat flies at night, and you hit a ball with a bat. Context is the only clue, which is why these words are such good reading practice.

Here are 120 multiple-meaning words from past ClueBy puzzles, each with a real example sentence for every meaning. Use them as a reference, or make a printable worksheet below.

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Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · chest · board · stand · wake · bear · ground · fall

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  24. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. ground — a position
  4. wake — to stop sleeping
  5. stand — to bear
  6. bear — the animal
  7. ground — crushed
  8. ground — the earth
  9. chest — of your body
  10. chest — of your body
  11. wake — before a funeral
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. fall — the season
  15. bat — the animal
  16. board — to get on
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. wake — a trail
  19. board — a committee
  20. fall — to drop
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. fall — to drop
  23. chest — a box
  24. bear — to put up with

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

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Frequently asked questions

What are multiple-meaning words?

Words with the same spelling and pronunciation but more than one meaning, like bark (of a dog or of a tree) or bank (for money or of a river). You can only tell which meaning is meant from the rest of the sentence.

Are multiple-meaning words the same as homonyms?

Mostly, yes. Teachers often use "multiple-meaning words" and "homonyms" for the same idea. Homophones are different: they sound alike but are spelled differently, like flour and flower.

Are the worksheets free?

Yes. Make and print as many as you like for home or classroom use. Each sheet has its own link, so you can print the same one again.

Where do the words come from?

From past ClueBy puzzles, a daily game where you sort twelve sentences by their missing word. A new puzzle every day adds four more words to this list.

Sentences from ClueBy, Tatoeba (CC BY 2.0 FR) and Common Voice (CC0). clueby.com