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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: bat · can · cold · face · stand · hide · wound · fan

  1. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. can — a tin
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. wound — an injury
  7. face — part of the head
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. can — a tin
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. stand — to bear
  13. fan — a supporter
  14. bat — the animal
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. cold — not warm
  17. face — to point toward
  18. can — to be able to
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. cold — an illness
  21. face — to confront
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. wound — an injury
  24. hide — to keep secret

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