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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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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: cold · foot · toast · saw · stand · mate · press · wound

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Did you ________________ the button?
  3. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  9. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  12. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  24. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. press — to push
  3. saw — past of 'see'
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. foot — a measure
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. mate — a friend
  9. foot — part of the body
  10. saw — the tool
  11. mate — to breed
  12. toast — bread
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. press — newspapers
  16. stand — to bear
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. cold — not warm
  19. saw — the tool
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. mate — a partner
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. toast — the most admired
  24. press — a publisher

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