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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: clip · nail · stand · wound · foot · leaves · mouse · cold

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. stand — to bear
  3. cold — an illness
  4. foot — a measure
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. wound — an injury
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. clip — for paper
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. clip — to cut
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. wound — an injury
  16. nail — on a finger
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. mouse — for a computer
  19. cold — not warm
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. leaves — to go away
  22. clip — a video
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. nail — for a hammer

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