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

Word bank: band · leaves · pop · content · pass · rule · bat · nail

  1. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The ________________ went through the wall.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  8. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  12. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. content — the amount
  3. content — happy
  4. pass — a permit
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. band — a ring
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. rule — to rule out
  9. pop — soda
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. leaves — lets stay
  12. bat — in an idiom
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. pass — to succeed
  15. pop — to visit
  16. rule — a law
  17. rule — government
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. nail — on a finger
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. leaves — to go away
  24. band — a music group

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