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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: mate · stand · content · jam · bore · land · cold · mug

  1. The water is too ________________.
  2. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  4. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  5. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Where did you ________________ them?
  22. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  23. Have you found your soul ________________?
  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. cold — not warm
  2. land — ground
  3. jam — in traffic
  4. mate — a friend
  5. cold — an illness
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. stand — for spectators
  9. land — to come down
  10. bore — to tire
  11. bore — gave birth
  12. land — a country
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. stand — to bear
  15. mug — a face
  16. mug — a cup
  17. content — happy
  18. content — the amount
  19. mate — to breed
  20. bore — to drill
  21. mug — to rob
  22. jam — a tight spot
  23. mate — a partner
  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