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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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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: cold · band · lie · net · stand · bulb · drill · scale

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  3. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The light ________________ burned out.
  8. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. I've got to change the light ________________.
  11. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. net — in sport
  3. cold — an illness
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. bulb — for light
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. drill — a practice
  10. bulb — for light
  11. lie — to recline
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. net — after costs
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. cold — not warm
  16. scale — in music
  17. drill — the tool
  18. drill — army training
  19. net — for catching
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. band — a ring
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. scale — size or range
  24. band — a music group

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