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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 120 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: land · suit · stick · chest · content · stand · hand · wound

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  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. land — ground
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. suit — in cards
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. content — happy
  6. wound — an injury
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. chest — of your body
  9. land — to come down
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. stick — a piece of wood
  12. hand — help
  13. stand — to bear
  14. land — a country
  15. suit — clothes
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. hand — in cards
  18. content — the amount
  19. hand — part of the body
  20. chest — of your body
  21. chest — a box
  22. wound — an injury
  23. suit — to fit
  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