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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: race · fork · perch · march · rock · cold · wound · stand

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  4. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  21. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. race — a contest
  4. march — music
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. wound — past of 'wind'
  7. stand — to bear
  8. rock — to move gently
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. race — humankind
  12. race — the arms race
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. wound — an injury
  15. fork — in a road
  16. rock — a stone
  17. cold — an illness
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. march — the month
  20. perch — the fish
  21. rock — music
  22. march — the month
  23. cold — not warm
  24. wound — an injury

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