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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  4. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  5. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. We're on a ________________ here.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  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. hand — help
  2. drill — the tool
  3. race — humankind
  4. jam — a tight spot
  5. roll — a cake
  6. content — the amount
  7. race — the arms race
  8. band — a music group
  9. drill — army training
  10. cue — a hint
  11. drill — a practice
  12. hand — in cards
  13. band — a ring
  14. race — a contest
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. jam — to spread on bread
  17. roll — a list
  18. content — happy
  19. cue — for pool
  20. cue — a signal
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. roll — on a roll
  23. hand — part of the body
  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