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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: board · bank · can · fan · foot · cold · band · content

  1. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  21. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. content — happy
  4. can — a tin
  5. cold — not warm
  6. cold — the Cold War
  7. cold — an illness
  8. bank — for money
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. bank — of a river
  12. board — a committee
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. foot — part of the body
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. content — the amount
  17. board — to get on
  18. can — to be able to
  19. foot — a measure
  20. bank — for money
  21. foot — the bottom
  22. can — a tin
  23. band — a music group
  24. fan — a supporter

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