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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  13. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  14. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  15. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The people resisted their cruel ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bear — the animal
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. band — a ring
  5. mouse — for a computer
  6. band — a music group
  7. hand — help
  8. pound — a weight
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. bear — the animal
  13. pound — to hit hard
  14. ruler — for measuring
  15. bear — to put up with
  16. cold — not warm
  17. hand — in cards
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. mouse — the animal
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. content — happy
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. content — the amount
  24. ruler — a monarch

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