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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: band · pit · fall · mug · spell · content · track · snap

  1. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  7. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  12. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  13. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  20. Where did you ________________ them?
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. pit — a hole
  2. snap — to click
  3. fall — to drop
  4. mug — a cup
  5. content — happy
  6. fall — the season
  7. fall — to drop
  8. spell — letters
  9. content — the amount
  10. band — a ring
  11. spell — magic
  12. snap — to snap out of it
  13. track — to keep track
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. spell — a short time
  16. snap — to speak sharply
  17. track — a path
  18. pit — in a race
  19. band — a music group
  20. mug — to rob
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. track — a song
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. mug — a face

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