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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. He was locked up in a ________________.
  16. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  20. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. content — the amount
  6. bear — the animal
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. bear — the animal
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. band — a ring
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chest — a box
  15. cell — in a prison
  16. cell — in biology
  17. march — the month
  18. march — music
  19. cell — a phone
  20. bowl — a dish
  21. content — happy
  22. march — the month
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. chest — of your body

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