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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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We're almost out of ________________.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  18. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The players ran onto the football ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. bound — obliged
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. band — a ring
  5. content — happy
  6. club — for golf
  7. pop — to visit
  8. pop — music
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. snap — to click
  11. club — a group
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. pop — soda
  14. wake — a trail
  15. content — the amount
  16. club — for dancing
  17. snap — to speak sharply
  18. snap — to snap out of it
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. pitch — completely
  21. bound — certain
  22. band — a music group
  23. bound — tied together
  24. pitch — a sports field

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