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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 · stand · tube · kid · tear · pop · fan · saw

  1. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  2. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I'll be taking the ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. tear — from crying
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. content — happy
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. tear — from crying
  6. pop — music
  7. content — the amount
  8. tube — the underground
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. tube — in a tire
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. pop — to visit
  13. kid — to tease
  14. stand — on your feet
  15. kid — child
  16. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. stand — to bear
  19. tube — a container
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. saw — the tool
  22. tear — to rip
  23. pop — soda
  24. saw — the tool

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