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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 120 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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. My father caught me by the ________________.
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. band — a music group
  3. content — the amount
  4. snap — to click
  5. content — happy
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. bass — low music
  9. band — a ring
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. bass — the fish
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. arm — a part of something

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