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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  17. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. wind — moving air
  3. pop — music
  4. content — happy
  5. pop — soda
  6. mine — an explosive
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. band — a music group
  9. bank — of a river
  10. bound — obliged
  11. bound — tied together
  12. bound — certain
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bank — for money
  17. stick — to attach or keep to
  18. wind — moving air
  19. band — a ring
  20. content — the amount
  21. wind — to turn a key
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. mine — for digging
  24. bank — for money

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