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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: pit · snap · band · bound · bowl · content · fall · hand

  1. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. That was ________________ to happen.
  7. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  8. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  9. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  10. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  19. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  20. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. snap — to click
  5. band — a music group
  6. bound — certain
  7. bowl — to roll
  8. hand — part of the body
  9. snap — to snap out of it
  10. hand — help
  11. band — a ring
  12. pit — a hole
  13. hand — in cards
  14. pit — in a race
  15. content — happy
  16. content — the amount
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. bound — obliged
  19. fall — the season
  20. fall — to drop
  21. bound — tied together
  22. fall — to drop
  23. pit — a fruit stone
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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