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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. can — a tin
  3. chest — a box
  4. chest — of your body
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. craft — boats
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. board — a committee
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. can — to be able to
  11. band — a music group
  12. dip — to sink
  13. can — a tin
  14. dip — to dunk
  15. fork — in a road
  16. board — to get on
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. content — the amount
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. band — a ring
  22. chest — of your body
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. craft — a skill

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