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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: content · cold · rush · saw · band · mine · jam · club

  1. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  22. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. mine — for digging
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. saw — the tool
  6. rush — hurry
  7. club — a group
  8. jam — a tight spot
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cold — an illness
  11. content — the amount
  12. club — for golf
  13. content — happy
  14. band — a music group
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. cold — not warm
  17. saw — the tool
  18. jam — to spread on bread
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. club — for dancing
  21. mine — an explosive
  22. jam — in traffic
  23. band — a ring
  24. saw — past of 'see'

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