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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. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  23. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. rush — hurry
  2. content — happy
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. rush — to hurry
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. chest — of your body
  9. fine — high quality
  10. row — a line
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. band — a music group
  13. row — to paddle
  14. bowl — a football final
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. chest — a box
  17. lie — an untruth
  18. content — the amount
  19. chest — of your body
  20. fine — all right
  21. band — a ring
  22. bowl — to roll
  23. lie — to recline
  24. fine — a penalty

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