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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: content · fall · band · perch · bass · hand · rock · bear

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  6. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  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 — happy
  2. bass — the fish
  3. bear — the animal
  4. hand — in cards
  5. rock — to move gently
  6. bear — to put up with
  7. band — a ring
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bass — low music
  11. perch — for a bird
  12. fall — the season
  13. perch — for a bird
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. hand — help
  16. rock — a stone
  17. bear — the animal
  18. rock — music
  19. fall — to drop
  20. content — the amount
  21. fall — to drop
  22. band — a music group
  23. perch — the fish
  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