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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 · current · mine · bear · ruler · cold · content · wake

  1. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. The water is too ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  7. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  8. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. cold — not warm
  4. content — the amount
  5. stand — to bear
  6. wake — to stop sleeping
  7. wake — before a funeral
  8. ruler — a monarch
  9. bear — the animal
  10. current — happening now
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. content — happy
  13. bear — the animal
  14. cold — an illness
  15. wake — a trail
  16. current — of water
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. current — electric
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. mine — an explosive

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