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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 120 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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. The tickets are free of ________________.
  9. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  16. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. content — happy
  3. band — a music group
  4. band — a ring
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. march — the month
  7. hand — help
  8. charge — a price
  9. rash — a series
  10. march — music
  11. rash — hasty
  12. hand — in cards
  13. mug — a cup
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. march — the month
  16. charge — in control
  17. content — the amount
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. charge — electricity
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. band — a rubber band
  23. mug — a face
  24. rash — on the skin

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