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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: can · band · coach · cell · mine · stand · content · date

  1. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He was locked up in a ________________.
  4. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. content — happy
  3. cell — in a prison
  4. can — to be able to
  5. cell — a phone
  6. band — a music group
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. date — the fruit
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. band — a ring
  11. mine — belonging to me
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. stand — to bear
  15. coach — pulled by horses
  16. can — a tin
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. content — the amount
  20. can — a tin
  21. mine — for digging
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. cell — in biology
  24. band — a rubber band

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