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

  1. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. I can't ________________ this cold.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. bear — the animal
  5. roll — a cake
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. roll — a list
  9. wind — moving air
  10. club — a group
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. wind — moving air
  13. band — a ring
  14. file — a tool
  15. club — for dancing
  16. season — in sport
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. season — of the year
  19. bear — the animal
  20. club — for golf
  21. file — a document
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. stand — to bear
  24. file — a line of people

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