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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.

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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: plane · safe · march · stem · court · clip · stand · cold

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  7. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  8. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  14. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  15. The ________________ took off on time.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. court — of a king
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. stand — to bear
  6. clip — for paper
  7. stem — to come from
  8. safe — out of danger
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. cold — an illness
  12. march — music
  13. clip — a video
  14. clip — to cut
  15. plane — an aircraft
  16. plane — a tool
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. safe — a strongbox
  19. court — for sport
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. march — the month
  22. march — the month
  23. court — of law
  24. cold — not warm

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