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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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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. He works in a ________________ mill.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  21. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. She got the top ________________ in the exam.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. band — a music group
  3. content — the amount
  4. rest — a break
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. bat — the animal
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. band — a ring
  10. chair — a leader
  11. content — happy
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. bark — a dog's sound
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. saw — the tool
  17. mark — a trace
  18. rest — what's left
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bark — to shout
  21. bark — of a tree
  22. rest — what's left
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. mark — a grade

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