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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: suit · cold · stick · deal · pitcher · stand · land · kid

  1. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  2. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. When will it ________________ you to start?
  8. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. When are we going to ________________?
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He is an ace ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — a big deal
  2. suit — in cards
  3. stand — to bear
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. land — a country
  6. cold — an illness
  7. suit — to fit
  8. deal — to handle
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. land — to come down
  12. kid — child
  13. land — ground
  14. kid — to tease
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. suit — clothes
  17. cold — not warm
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. pitcher — in baseball
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. stand — for spectators

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