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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: cold · stand · field · fine · bear · bass · saw · pop

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  8. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. He works in a ________________ mill.
  13. She's very handy with a ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. You don't need to ________________ round.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. cold — not warm
  3. stand — for spectators
  4. fine — high quality
  5. bass — low music
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. cold — the Cold War
  8. bear — the animal
  9. bass — the fish
  10. cold — an illness
  11. field — a subject
  12. saw — the tool
  13. saw — the tool
  14. bear — the animal
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. field — farmland
  17. pop — to visit
  18. field — for sport
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. stand — to bear
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. pop — music
  24. pop — soda

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