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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  23. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  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. band — a ring
  2. lie — to recline
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. content — the amount
  5. band — a music group
  6. temple — a place of worship
  7. wound — an injury
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. staff — a stick
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bear — the animal
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. wound — an injury
  15. staff — employees
  16. snap — to click
  17. content — happy
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. lie — an untruth
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. bear — the animal
  22. temple — side of the head
  23. staff — employees
  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