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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. My mare is ________________ in color.
  4. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He was locked up in a ________________.
  13. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  24. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bay — a horse colour
  4. bay — a part of the sea
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. season — of the year
  7. wind — moving air
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. content — happy
  10. content — the amount
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cell — in a prison
  13. cell — a phone
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — of water
  16. wind — moving air
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. bay — to keep at bay
  19. cell — in biology
  20. stand — to bear
  21. spring — the season
  22. season — in sport
  23. rule — a law
  24. rule — government

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