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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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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: stand · cabinet · wind · race · bat · fall · kid · bank

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  17. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. kid — child
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. bat — the animal
  5. bank — of a river
  6. fall — the season
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. bank — for money
  10. fall — to drop
  11. fall — to drop
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. race — a contest
  16. cabinet — a cupboard
  17. race — humankind
  18. kid — to tease
  19. stand — to bear
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. bank — for money
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — moving air
  24. race — the arms race

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