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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  10. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The King held a masked ________________.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mouse — for a computer
  4. ball — a great time
  5. band — a ring
  6. file — a document
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. jam — to spread on bread
  10. jam — a tight spot
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. ball — a dance
  13. stem — to come from
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. band — a music group
  16. file — a tool
  17. content — happy
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. file — a line of people
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. stem — a stem cell

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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