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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 116 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
468
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: file · cold · cabinet · court · object · board · spring · stand

  1. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  2. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  3. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  4. I can't ________________ this cold.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  10. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  23. What do you think of the new ________________?
  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. board — a committee
  2. object — an aim
  3. board — to get on
  4. stand — to bear
  5. object — a thing
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. cold — an illness
  8. court — for sport
  9. file — a tool
  10. court — of a king
  11. spring — a coil
  12. file — a document
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. cabinet — a cupboard
  15. object — to protest
  16. cold — not warm
  17. spring — of water
  18. file — a line of people
  19. court — of law
  20. board — a flat piece
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. spring — the season
  23. cabinet — ministers
  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