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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  9. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. march — the month
  3. craft — a skill
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. march — the month
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. straw — a straw man
  9. craft — boats
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. foot — part of the body
  12. tear — from crying
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. tear — from crying
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a music group
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. content — happy
  22. foot — a measure
  23. march — music
  24. tear — to rip

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