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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. False peace will not ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  6. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  7. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. last — to go on
  2. last — final
  3. drill — army training
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. bowl — a dish
  6. hand — in cards
  7. stick — to attach or keep to
  8. band — a music group
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. last — finally
  12. mark — to pay attention
  13. content — happy
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. band — a ring
  16. mark — a trace
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. mark — a grade
  19. hand — help
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. drill — the tool
  22. content — the amount
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bowl — to roll

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