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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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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: deal · cue · band · content · bound · wind · kid · mug

  1. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  18. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  19. Where did you ________________ them?
  20. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  21. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  24. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — to tease
  2. band — a ring
  3. content — happy
  4. content — the amount
  5. wind — moving air
  6. deal — to handle
  7. mug — a face
  8. kid — child
  9. band — a music group
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. mug — a cup
  12. cue — a hint
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bound — certain
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. cue — for pool
  18. bound — tied together
  19. mug — to rob
  20. cue — a signal
  21. bound — obliged
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. deal — a big deal
  24. deal — an agreement

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