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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.

Make a worksheet

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 · rash · rest · band · date · mine · chest · pitcher

  1. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Have you settled on a ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. chest — a box
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. rash — a series
  5. content — the amount
  6. rest — a break
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. content — happy
  10. band — a ring
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. rest — what's left
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. chest — of your body
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. rest — what's left
  17. band — a music group
  18. mine — for digging
  19. chest — of your body
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. date — the fruit
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. date — on the calendar

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