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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: stand · net · cold · pass · mark · chip · cell · wind

  1. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  2. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  6. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He was locked up in a ________________.
  10. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  14. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  21. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  22. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. net — after costs
  3. cold — not warm
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. cell — in biology
  6. chip — in a computer
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. wind — moving air
  9. cell — in a prison
  10. chip — to eat
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. chip — for betting
  13. pass — a permit
  14. mark — a grade
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. stand — to bear
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. net — for catching
  19. cell — a phone
  20. stand — for spectators
  21. stand — on your feet
  22. mark — a trace
  23. cold — an illness
  24. net — in sport

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