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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. drill — army training
  4. board — a committee
  5. kid — to tease
  6. can — a tin
  7. deal — a big deal
  8. can — a tin
  9. can — to be able to
  10. drill — the tool
  11. board — a flat piece
  12. content — the amount
  13. band — a ring
  14. cold — not warm
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. kid — child
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. drill — a practice
  19. cold — an illness
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. board — to get on
  22. band — a music group
  23. content — happy
  24. deal — to handle

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