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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 · degree · coach · saw · can · tear · cell

  1. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  8. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  9. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  12. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. fall — to drop
  2. can — a tin
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. tear — from crying
  5. stand — on your feet
  6. saw — the tool
  7. coach — pulled by horses
  8. tear — to rip
  9. can — a tin
  10. degree — temperature
  11. fall — the season
  12. degree — from a university
  13. stand — to bear
  14. stand — for spectators
  15. fall — to drop
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. cell — a phone
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. cell — in biology
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. can — to be able to
  22. saw — the tool
  23. tear — from crying
  24. degree — an amount

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