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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. I can't ________________ this cold.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  14. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. This piece is in a major ________________.
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. band — a music group
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. rush — hurry
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. ground — crushed
  8. stand — to bear
  9. ground — a position
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. ground — the earth
  13. roll — a cake
  14. row — to paddle
  15. row — a line
  16. roll — a list
  17. band — a ring
  18. key — for a lock
  19. content — the amount
  20. key — in music
  21. key — the most important part
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. stand — for spectators

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