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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. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. The ________________ market has crashed.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. Have you settled on a ________________?
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. I would like to have a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. band — a ring
  5. stand — to bear
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. mine — for digging
  8. stock — a soup base
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. date — the fruit
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. rest — what's left
  13. ground — a position
  14. stock — goods
  15. stock — shares
  16. cell — a phone
  17. rest — what's left
  18. ground — the earth
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. cell — in biology
  21. band — a music group
  22. date — on the calendar
  23. ground — crushed
  24. rest — a break

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