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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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  6. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  7. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  8. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  9. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  10. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. This piece is in a major ________________.
  23. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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. content — videos and posts
  4. band — a music group
  5. branch — a division
  6. mark — to pay attention
  7. mark — a trace
  8. hide — animal skin
  9. scale — for weighing
  10. mark — a grade
  11. drill — a practice
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. key — the most important part
  14. drill — the tool
  15. drill — army training
  16. branch — of a tree
  17. content — the amount
  18. branch — of a bank
  19. content — happy
  20. scale — in music
  21. key — for a lock
  22. key — in music
  23. scale — size or range
  24. hide — to keep secret

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