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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. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  3. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. firm — steady
  3. lean — thin
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. snap — to click
  8. band — a ring
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. march — music
  11. leaves — of a tree
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. content — happy
  14. wound — an injury
  15. firm — decided
  16. content — the amount
  17. firm — a company
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. march — the month
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. march — the month
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. wound — an injury
  24. lean — to bend

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