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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  7. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  22. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — to succeed
  2. present — a gift
  3. cold — not warm
  4. present — there
  5. content — happy
  6. stand — for spectators
  7. pass — a permit
  8. tube — the underground
  9. firm — steady
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. firm — a company
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. chair — a leader
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. cold — an illness
  16. stand — to bear
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. content — the amount
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. firm — decided
  21. tube — a container
  22. stand — on your feet
  23. present — the time now
  24. cold — the Cold War

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