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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Don't do anything ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. rash — hasty
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a list
  9. deal — to handle
  10. march — music
  11. band — a music group
  12. content — the amount
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. march — the month
  16. arm — part of the body
  17. march — the month
  18. content — happy
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. deal — an agreement
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. rash — a series
  24. roll — a cake

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