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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 116 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: content · band · court · row · mate · rest · rash · lean

  1. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  7. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  10. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. band — a music group
  3. band — a ring
  4. court — of law
  5. row — a line
  6. rest — what's left
  7. lean — to bend
  8. content — happy
  9. court — of a king
  10. row — to paddle
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. rest — what's left
  13. court — for sport
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. content — the amount
  16. lean — to rest against
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. rest — a break
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. mate — a partner
  21. rash — hasty
  22. mate — a friend
  23. rash — a series
  24. mate — to breed

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