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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  8. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. band — a music group
  3. content — the amount
  4. net — for catching
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. kick — in football
  7. wake — to stop sleeping
  8. wind — moving air
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wake — a trail
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. band — a ring
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. net — after costs
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. kick — with a leg
  18. content — happy
  19. prune — the fruit
  20. prune — to trim
  21. prune — to trim
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. net — 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