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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  7. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. band — a ring
  3. cap — a hat
  4. content — happy
  5. land — to come down
  6. leaves — to go away
  7. leaves — lets stay
  8. rock — music
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. roll — a cake
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. rock — a stone
  14. content — the amount
  15. cap — of ice
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. land — a country
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. roll — a list
  21. band — a music group
  22. bass — the fish
  23. cap — a lid
  24. bass — low 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