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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: pit · wind · wave · bay · trunk · chair · stand · cold

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  9. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  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. stand — to bear
  2. pit — in a race
  3. chair — a leader
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. wind — moving air
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. chair — a professorship
  9. stand — on your feet
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. pit — a hole
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. wind — moving air
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. cold — an illness
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. bay — a part of the sea
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. cold — not warm
  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