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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 120 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: wound · squash · track · rash · content · mug · arm · band

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  4. My father caught me by the ________________.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  9. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  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. content — happy
  2. track — to keep track
  3. wound — past of 'wind'
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. mug — a cup
  9. arm — a part of something
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. rash — a series
  12. wound — an injury
  13. band — a ring
  14. mug — to rob
  15. rash — hasty
  16. track — a path
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. squash — to crush
  19. track — a song
  20. squash — the sport
  21. wound — an injury
  22. band — a music group
  23. mug — a face
  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