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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: hand · safe · staff · march · stand · cold · calf · wind

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  12. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. stand — to bear
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. calf — a young animal
  6. staff — employees
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. cold — not warm
  9. march — music
  10. cold — an illness
  11. march — the month
  12. safe — out of danger
  13. march — the month
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. wind — moving air
  17. staff — employees
  18. hand — in cards
  19. safe — out of danger
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. calf — of the leg
  23. wind — moving air
  24. calf — a young animal

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