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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: stand · fall · can · wind · cell · band · pound · kid

  1. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.

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

Answer key

  1. pound — for dogs
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. pound — to hit hard
  5. fall — to drop
  6. can — to be able to
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cell — a phone
  10. stand — on your feet
  11. fall — the season
  12. can — a tin
  13. stand — to bear
  14. wind — moving air
  15. kid — child
  16. cell — in biology
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. can — a tin
  22. wind — moving air
  23. pound — a weight
  24. kid — to tease

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