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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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. False peace will not ________________.
  8. We're on a ________________ here.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  11. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. last — final
  3. rest — a break
  4. safe — a strongbox
  5. last — finally
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. last — to go on
  8. roll — on a roll
  9. content — happy
  10. trunk — of an elephant
  11. roll — a list
  12. swing — music
  13. band — a music group
  14. safe — out of danger
  15. rest — what's left
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. band — a ring
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. roll — a cake
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. rest — what's left
  22. safe — out of danger
  23. content — the amount
  24. swing — in golf

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