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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. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. This piece is in a major ________________.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in biology
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. band — a rubber band
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. cell — a phone
  7. band — a ring
  8. file — a line of people
  9. mine — for digging
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. saw — the tool
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. key — in music
  14. key — for a lock
  15. file — a document
  16. content — happy
  17. file — a tool
  18. key — the most important part
  19. band — a music group
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. saw — the tool
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. rush — hurry

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