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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. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  13. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. When are we going to ________________?
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  20. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. march — the month
  6. content — the amount
  7. band — a music group
  8. content — happy
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. band — a ring
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. object — an aim
  13. season — of the year
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. land — to come down
  16. season — in sport
  17. object — a thing
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. land — ground
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. land — a country
  22. march — music
  23. object — to protest
  24. march — the month

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