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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  11. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  17. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  23. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. roll — a list
  3. march — the month
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. wound — an injury
  7. band — a ring
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. mug — to rob
  10. wound — past of 'wind'
  11. wound — an injury
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. march — the month
  14. trunk — of a tree
  15. mug — a cup
  16. straw — to clutch at straws
  17. mug — a face
  18. march — music
  19. trunk — of an elephant
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. band — a music group
  22. straw — a straw man
  23. roll — a cake
  24. content — happy

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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