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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. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. There's no middle ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  22. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. last — final
  3. band — a music group
  4. fall — to drop
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. ground — a position
  7. content — the amount
  8. bowl — to roll
  9. ground — the earth
  10. bowl — a football final
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. fall — to drop
  14. last — finally
  15. fall — the season
  16. game — a match
  17. snap — to click
  18. last — to go on
  19. content — happy
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. bowl — a dish
  22. band — a ring
  23. ground — crushed
  24. content — videos and posts

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