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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: band · stick · mate · season · cold · fall · file · stand

  1. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. file — a line of people
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. file — a document
  7. fall — to drop
  8. mate — a partner
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. fall — the season
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. stand — to bear
  14. mate — to breed
  15. band — a music group
  16. season — of the year
  17. file — a tool
  18. fall — to drop
  19. band — a ring
  20. season — in sport
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. mate — a friend
  24. cold — an illness

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