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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: deal · mug · content · band · fan · cold · roll · firm

  1. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  17. We're on a ________________ here.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  21. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. mug — to rob
  3. band — a music group
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — a face
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. firm — decided
  9. content — happy
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. band — a ring
  12. fan — to cool the air
  13. content — the amount
  14. deal — to handle
  15. roll — a list
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. roll — on a roll
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. roll — a cake
  21. firm — steady
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. firm — a company
  24. cold — not warm

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