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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 120 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 · lie · bass · field · trunk · bear · kid · file

  1. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  2. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  3. I can't ________________ this cold.
  4. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. stand — on your feet
  2. bear — the animal
  3. stand — to bear
  4. lie — to recline
  5. bass — the fish
  6. kid — child
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. field — a subject
  9. kid — to tease
  10. trunk — of a car
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. field — farmland
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. file — a tool
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. bass — low music
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. field — for sport
  22. file — a document
  23. file — a line of people
  24. trunk — of a tree

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