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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: stick · stand · plane · object · cold · rule · land · kid

  1. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  11. I can't ________________ this cold.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. stick — a piece of wood
  3. kid — to tease
  4. land — to come down
  5. rule — government
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. object — to protest
  8. cold — not warm
  9. land — a country
  10. object — a thing
  11. stand — to bear
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. kid — child
  16. cold — an illness
  17. rule — a law
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. plane — a tool
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. object — an aim

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