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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
468
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 · pitcher · arm · chest · band · track · last · mate

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  3. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  4. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. My father caught me by the ________________.
  12. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. Have you found your soul ________________?
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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. chest — a box
  4. track — a path
  5. mate — to breed
  6. arm — part of the body
  7. band — a ring
  8. band — a rubber band
  9. last — finally
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. chest — of your body
  13. chest — of your body
  14. last — to go on
  15. mate — a friend
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. track — a song
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. mate — a partner
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. last — final
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. band — a music group

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