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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: cold · key · bay · fall · pit · roll · hand · stand

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  11. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. My mare is ________________ in color.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  21. We're on a ________________ here.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — not warm
  2. roll — a list
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. pit — a hole
  6. key — in music
  7. fall — to drop
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. hand — help
  10. roll — a cake
  11. stand — for spectators
  12. key — the most important part
  13. stand — to bear
  14. pit — in a race
  15. fall — to drop
  16. bay — a horse colour
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. hand — in cards
  19. fall — the season
  20. bay — to keep at bay
  21. roll — on a roll
  22. cold — an illness
  23. key — for a lock
  24. stand — on your feet

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