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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: fall · land · content · stand · straw · calf · ground · net

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. There's no middle ________________.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. fall — the season
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. net — after costs
  5. stand — to bear
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. land — to come down
  11. land — ground
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. net — in sport
  14. net — for catching
  15. calf — a young animal
  16. land — a country
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. ground — a position
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. content — the amount
  23. content — happy
  24. fall — to drop

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