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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: content · bear · bay · band · mark · object · stand · cold

  1. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  21. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  22. My mare is ________________ in color.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  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. object — an aim
  2. object — a thing
  3. band — a ring
  4. cold — an illness
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. stand — to bear
  7. bay — a part of the sea
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. mark — a grade
  10. object — to protest
  11. content — the amount
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. cold — not warm
  15. stand — on your feet
  16. mark — a trace
  17. content — happy
  18. bear — the animal
  19. band — a music group
  20. bear — the animal
  21. mark — to pay attention
  22. bay — a horse colour
  23. stand — for spectators
  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