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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. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  2. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. safe — a strongbox
  2. safe — out of danger
  3. board — a committee
  4. rock — a stone
  5. band — a music group
  6. band — a ring
  7. field — farmland
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. content — happy
  10. snap — to click
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. field — for sport
  14. rock — to move gently
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. safe — out of danger
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. content — the amount
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. board — to get on
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. field — a subject
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. rock — music

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