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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: pop · content · cell · temple · row · mark · straw · stand

  1. I can't ________________ this cold.
  2. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  10. When was this ________________ built?
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. We're almost out of ________________.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. stand — to bear
  2. cell — in biology
  3. content — happy
  4. pop — to visit
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. temple — side of the head
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. content — the amount
  9. stand — for spectators
  10. temple — a place of worship
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. mark — to pay attention
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. mark — a grade
  16. row — to paddle
  17. pop — music
  18. mark — a trace
  19. stand — on your feet
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. pop — soda
  23. row — a line
  24. cell — a phone

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