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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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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: kid · cabinet · mug · cold · spring · wound · stand · nail

  1. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — a face
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. spring — a coil
  4. mug — to rob
  5. stand — to bear
  6. spring — of water
  7. wound — an injury
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. cold — not warm
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. kid — child
  12. cold — an illness
  13. spring — the season
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. kid — to tease
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. cabinet — a cupboard
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. mug — a cup
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. wound — an injury
  24. nail — on a finger

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