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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  8. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  9. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. wound — an injury
  4. wound — an injury
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. mug — a cup
  7. can — a tin
  8. rule — a law
  9. mug — a face
  10. can — to be able to
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. rule — to rule out
  16. mine — for digging
  17. rule — government
  18. content — happy
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. band — a ring
  22. can — a tin
  23. content — the amount
  24. band — a music group

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