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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. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  20. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  21. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. We're on a ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. band — a ring
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. content — the amount
  7. wind — moving air
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. face — to point toward
  12. march — the month
  13. face — to confront
  14. content — happy
  15. march — music
  16. roll — a cake
  17. roll — a list
  18. squash — to crush
  19. march — the month
  20. face — part of the head
  21. wave — a sudden rise
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. band — a music group
  24. roll — on a roll

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