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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 · rock · ball · degree · bear · stand · squash · cold

  1. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  4. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  16. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  20. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. rock — music
  3. rock — a stone
  4. land — a country
  5. bear — the animal
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. cold — not warm
  9. squash — the sport
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. stand — to bear
  12. squash — to crush
  13. cold — an illness
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. land — ground
  16. bear — to put up with
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. land — to come down
  19. degree — an amount
  20. degree — temperature
  21. degree — from a university
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. ball — a great time
  24. ball — a dance

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