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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. foot — the bottom
  3. rock — music
  4. cold — an illness
  5. wake — before a funeral
  6. foot — a measure
  7. content — happy
  8. cold — not warm
  9. wake — a trail
  10. firm — a company
  11. rock — a stone
  12. mark — a grade
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. mark — to pay attention
  15. band — a ring
  16. mark — a trace
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. band — a music group
  20. content — the amount
  21. foot — part of the body
  22. firm — steady
  23. firm — decided
  24. band — a rubber band

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