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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: dip · nail · cold · stand · lean · march · hand · band

  1. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — on a finger
  2. hand — help
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. band — a ring
  6. cold — an illness
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. march — the month
  9. march — music
  10. lean — to bend
  11. stand — to bear
  12. dip — to sink
  13. dip — a sauce
  14. cold — not warm
  15. hand — in cards
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. lean — thin
  19. march — the month
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. band — a music group
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. hand — part of the body

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