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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 116 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  9. David sat on the ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. ground — crushed
  3. ground — the earth
  4. band — a ring
  5. content — the amount
  6. spring — a coil
  7. bound — obliged
  8. bear — to put up with
  9. swing — to play on
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. swing — in golf
  12. ground — a position
  13. band — a music group
  14. bound — tied together
  15. content — happy
  16. bear — the animal
  17. bat — the animal
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. spring — the season
  20. bound — certain
  21. bear — the animal
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. spring — of water
  24. swing — music

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