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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  6. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. What do you think of the new ________________?
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  22. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  23. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  24. The King held a masked ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. ball — a great time
  3. band — a ring
  4. content — happy
  5. bowl — to roll
  6. cabinet — a cupboard
  7. mark — a trace
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. hand — in cards
  13. straw — a straw man
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. hand — part of the body
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. mark — a grade
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. content — the amount
  21. hand — help
  22. bowl — a football final
  23. mark — to pay attention
  24. ball — a dance

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