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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  5. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  6. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  9. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Have you met the new head ________________?
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. spell — letters
  3. firm — decided
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. coach — pulled by horses
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. firm — steady
  9. bark — to shout
  10. firm — a company
  11. kid — to tease
  12. mouse — the animal
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. coach — a trainer
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. spell — magic
  18. band — a music group
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. spell — a short time
  23. band — a ring
  24. stand — for spectators

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