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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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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: cold · ground · land · trunk · capital · deal · stand · lash

  1. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  2. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  3. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — to lash out
  2. ground — the earth
  3. lash — an eyelash
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. ground — crushed
  7. trunk — of a tree
  8. cold — an illness
  9. trunk — of an elephant
  10. land — ground
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. deal — to handle
  13. stand — to bear
  14. land — to come down
  15. capital — money
  16. cold — not warm
  17. lash — a whip stroke
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. capital — a city
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. land — a country
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. ground — a position

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