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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  15. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  16. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  23. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. band — a ring
  5. content — the amount
  6. band — a music group
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. can — to be able to
  9. last — finally
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. perch — the fish
  12. content — happy
  13. cap — a lid
  14. fork — a garden tool
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. cap — of ice
  17. fork — in a road
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. last — to go on
  20. can — a tin
  21. wake — a trail
  22. cap — a hat
  23. can — a tin
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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