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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 116 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: perch · club · cold · hand · fine · lash · bat · stand

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  5. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  6. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  20. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. hand — in cards
  4. fine — all right
  5. hand — part of the body
  6. lash — an eyelash
  7. hand — help
  8. fine — high quality
  9. club — a group
  10. club — for dancing
  11. stand — to bear
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. bat — the animal
  16. cold — not warm
  17. cold — an illness
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. lash — to lash out
  20. perch — for a bird
  21. club — for golf
  22. perch — the fish
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. bat — for baseball

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