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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. rash — a series
  3. march — the month
  4. chip — for betting
  5. content — the amount
  6. band — a music group
  7. chip — to eat
  8. last — finally
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. season — of the year
  11. last — final
  12. last — to go on
  13. content — happy
  14. band — a ring
  15. can — to be able to
  16. rash — hasty
  17. can — a tin
  18. march — music
  19. march — the month
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. can — a tin
  24. season — in sport

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