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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 116 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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  18. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. safe — a strongbox
  3. ground — crushed
  4. last — final
  5. band — a music group
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. content — the amount
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. cell — in biology
  10. hand — in cards
  11. ground — the earth
  12. ground — a position
  13. march — music
  14. last — finally
  15. march — the month
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. safe — out of danger
  18. march — the month
  19. band — a ring
  20. hand — help
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. last — to go on
  23. content — happy
  24. cell — a phone

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