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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 reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  4. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  10. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  11. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. bound — tied together
  2. band — a music group
  3. cap — of ice
  4. ball — a great time
  5. content — the amount
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. pop — music
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. tear — from crying
  10. tear — from crying
  11. cap — a hat
  12. bound — obliged
  13. fall — to drop
  14. cap — a lid
  15. tear — to rip
  16. pop — soda
  17. fall — to drop
  18. pop — to visit
  19. content — happy
  20. ball — a dance
  21. band — a ring
  22. fall — the season
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. bound — certain

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