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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  22. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. band — a ring
  3. firm — steady
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. cell — a phone
  6. race — a contest
  7. race — humankind
  8. cell — in biology
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. patient — a sick person
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. patient — calm and waiting
  14. swing — to play on
  15. band — a music group
  16. swing — in golf
  17. firm — decided
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. race — the arms race
  20. tube — the underground
  21. stand — for spectators
  22. firm — a company
  23. tube — a container
  24. swing — music

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