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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: stand · scale · toast · net · kid · march · bay · rash

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  4. My mare is ________________ in color.
  5. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  17. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. kid — to tease
  3. net — for catching
  4. bay — a horse colour
  5. toast — a drink to someone
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. scale — size or range
  10. net — in sport
  11. rash — a series
  12. toast — the most admired
  13. kid — child
  14. march — the month
  15. net — after costs
  16. rash — on the skin
  17. toast — bread
  18. rash — hasty
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. march — music
  21. march — the month
  22. scale — in music
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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