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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 116 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.

Words on the sheet
468
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 · racket · stand · scale · squash · lean · land · nail

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  4. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  24. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. nail — for a hammer
  4. nail — on a finger
  5. squash — to crush
  6. land — a country
  7. lean — to rest against
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. cold — an illness
  10. lean — to bend
  11. scale — in music
  12. scale — size or range
  13. cold — not warm
  14. scale — for weighing
  15. land — to come down
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. lean — thin
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. land — ground
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. squash — the sport
  24. racket — a loud noise

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