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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: march · stand · bear · ball · lean · cell · ruler · cold

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. bear — the animal
  3. stand — to bear
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bear — the animal
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. march — the month
  8. lean — to bend
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. march — the month
  11. cell — a phone
  12. ball — a great time
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. march — music
  16. ruler — for measuring
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. ball — a dance
  19. ruler — a monarch
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cell — in biology
  23. cold — not warm
  24. lean — thin

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