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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: bowl · mine · cold · clip · foot · stand · fine · squash

  1. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  4. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  24. Hold the papers together with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — the Cold War
  2. fine — high quality
  3. fine — all right
  4. bowl — to roll
  5. cold — an illness
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. cold — not warm
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. foot — a measure
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. clip — to cut
  14. stand — to bear
  15. clip — a video
  16. stand — on your feet
  17. squash — the sport
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. foot — part of the body
  20. squash — to crush
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. mine — for digging
  23. fine — a penalty
  24. clip — for paper

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