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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: bore · squash · band · fall · firm · cold · stand · drill

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  4. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  7. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I can't ________________ this cold.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. fall — to drop
  3. firm — a company
  4. firm — decided
  5. squash — to crush
  6. bore — gave birth
  7. stand — on your feet
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — a practice
  10. stand — to bear
  11. drill — the tool
  12. cold — not warm
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. band — a ring
  16. firm — steady
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bore — to tire
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. band — a music group
  21. fall — the season
  22. fall — to drop
  23. bore — to drill
  24. band — a rubber band

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