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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: saw · land · squash · kick · band · wake · firm · content

  1. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  8. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  15. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  16. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. She's very handy with a ________________.
  21. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. saw — the tool
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. band — a music group
  6. land — to come down
  7. firm — steady
  8. wake — a trail
  9. content — happy
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. land — ground
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. squash — to crush
  14. kick — a thrill
  15. band — a ring
  16. firm — decided
  17. squash — the sport
  18. wake — to stop sleeping
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. saw — the tool
  21. firm — a company
  22. land — a country
  23. kick — in football
  24. content — the amount

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