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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. I'll be taking the ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. tube — the underground
  4. band — a music group
  5. present — there
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. band — a ring
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. drill — the tool
  11. toast — bread
  12. present — the time now
  13. present — a gift
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. tube — in a tire
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. drill — a practice
  20. drill — army training
  21. tube — a container
  22. row — a quarrel
  23. row — a line
  24. row — to paddle

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