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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 120 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  9. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  10. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. band — a ring
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. chest — of your body
  10. pitch — a sports field
  11. content — happy
  12. pitch — completely
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. mine — for digging
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. chest — of your body
  18. racket — a loud noise
  19. band — a music group
  20. content — the amount
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. chest — a box

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