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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: calf · net · stand · content · bear · cell · cold · leaves

  1. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  2. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  5. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. I can't ________________ this cold.
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. bear — the animal
  2. calf — a young animal
  3. content — happy
  4. leaves — to go away
  5. stand — for spectators
  6. cold — not warm
  7. net — in sport
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. cold — an illness
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. calf — of the leg
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. net — for catching
  15. bear — the animal
  16. cell — a phone
  17. cell — in biology
  18. stand — to bear
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. net — after costs
  21. content — the amount
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. stand — on your feet

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