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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: snap · spell · content · hand · rock · tear · band · craft

  1. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  15. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to speak sharply
  2. spell — a short time
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. snap — to click
  7. content — happy
  8. content — the amount
  9. hand — help
  10. spell — magic
  11. tear — to rip
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. tear — from crying
  14. hand — in cards
  15. band — a music group
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. spell — letters
  18. hand — part of the body
  19. craft — boats
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. tear — from crying
  22. rock — music
  23. rock — a stone
  24. band — a ring

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