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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 opened a ________________ of soup.
  3. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  4. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  12. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  18. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a music group
  2. can — a tin
  3. straw — a straw man
  4. ruler — for measuring
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. ruler — a monarch
  8. content — happy
  9. last — to go on
  10. march — the month
  11. can — a tin
  12. can — to be able to
  13. kid — child
  14. band — a ring
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. kid — to tease
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  19. last — finally
  20. last — final
  21. march — music
  22. march — the month
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. content — the amount

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