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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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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: fine · firm · content · bark · band · net · snap · rush

  1. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  2. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. That must've been a ________________.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  12. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. He took the fish out of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. firm — a company
  2. band — a ring
  3. bark — to shout
  4. rush — a thrill
  5. rush — hurry
  6. firm — steady
  7. content — the amount
  8. net — in sport
  9. snap — to speak sharply
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. net — after costs
  12. bark — a dog's sound
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. firm — decided
  16. band — a music group
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. content — happy
  21. snap — to click
  22. fine — high quality
  23. fine — all right
  24. net — for catching

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