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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 still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. band — a music group
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. chair — a professorship
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. last — finally
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. mine — for digging
  13. chair — a leader
  14. kick — with a leg
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — happy
  17. kick — in football
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. last — to go on
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. last — final
  24. fan — a supporter

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