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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: fan · trunk · cold · stand · key · land · wound · firm

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. This piece is in a major ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  15. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. key — in music
  3. stand — to bear
  4. land — to come down
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. key — for a lock
  7. firm — steady
  8. land — ground
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. trunk — of an elephant
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. land — a country
  14. fan — to cool the air
  15. firm — a company
  16. firm — decided
  17. wound — an injury
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. key — the most important part
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. cold — not warm
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. stand — for spectators

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