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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 124 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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Word bank
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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: hand · cold · mark · leaves · game · file · march · stand

  1. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. stand — to bear
  4. file — a line of people
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. file — a document
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. march — the month
  9. game — a match
  10. march — music
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. hand — help
  13. file — a tool
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. cold — not warm
  16. mark — a grade
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. cold — an illness
  19. mark — a trace
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. march — the month
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. game — wild animals
  24. leaves — lets stay

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