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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. last — to go on
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. kid — to tease
  6. content — the amount
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. last — finally
  10. mouse — the animal
  11. band — a music group
  12. plane — a tool
  13. content — happy
  14. prune — to trim
  15. prune — to trim
  16. stand — to bear
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. kid — child
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mouse — for a computer
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. band — a ring
  24. plane — in geometry

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