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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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468
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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  2. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  14. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  18. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — music
  2. stand — to bear
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. content — happy
  6. snap — to snap out of it
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — a box
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. object — an aim
  12. band — a ring
  13. stand — for spectators
  14. fork — in a road
  15. swing — to play on
  16. content — the amount
  17. chest — of your body
  18. snap — to click
  19. object — to protest
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. band — a music group
  23. swing — in golf
  24. object — a thing

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