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

Word bank: kid · present · stand · safe · march · stem · content · row

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  11. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. march — the month
  4. stem — of a plant
  5. row — a line
  6. row — a quarrel
  7. present — there
  8. march — the month
  9. stem — to come from
  10. kid — child
  11. safe — a strongbox
  12. stand — to bear
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. stem — a stem cell
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. present — a gift
  17. row — to paddle
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. march — music
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. present — the time now
  24. content — videos and posts

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