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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's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  2. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  3. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. The ________________ took off on time.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. chest — a box
  3. mine — an explosive
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mine — for digging
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. band — a ring
  9. pound — for dogs
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. content — the amount
  12. content — happy
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. rash — hasty
  16. plane — a tool
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. rash — a series
  19. plane — an aircraft
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. pound — a weight
  23. rash — on the skin
  24. chest — of your body

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