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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 116 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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The King held a masked ________________.
  10. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. band — a music group
  3. tear — to rip
  4. content — the amount
  5. band — a ring
  6. snap — to click
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. ball — a dance
  10. march — the month
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. tear — from crying
  13. content — happy
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bear — the animal
  16. fall — to drop
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. fall — the season
  19. fall — to drop
  20. tear — from crying
  21. ball — a round shape
  22. ball — a great time
  23. march — music
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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