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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 116 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. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. Where did you ________________ them?
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  23. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  24. He is as ________________ as a wolf.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. mug — a face
  4. content — happy
  5. band — a ring
  6. mug — to rob
  7. lean — to bend
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bear — the animal
  10. race — a contest
  11. row — to paddle
  12. content — the amount
  13. bear — the animal
  14. race — the arms race
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. mug — a cup
  18. bat — for baseball
  19. bat — the animal
  20. race — humankind
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. lean — to rest against
  23. row — a line
  24. lean — thin

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