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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  9. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  16. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. At ________________, we arrived at the village.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. deal — a big deal
  3. bass — low music
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. band — a ring
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. snap — to speak sharply
  9. deal — an agreement
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bass — the fish
  12. snap — to click
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. content — the amount
  15. deal — to handle
  16. mine — an explosive
  17. content — happy
  18. mine — for digging
  19. last — to go on
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. stand — to bear
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. last — final
  24. last — finally

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