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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
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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: content · straw · dip · chest · date · band · suit · rash

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  22. When will it ________________ you to start?
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a rubber band
  2. chest — of your body
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. band — a music group
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. rash — hasty
  9. content — happy
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. dip — to sink
  13. rash — a series
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. chest — a box
  16. date — the fruit
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. band — a ring
  21. suit — clothes
  22. suit — to fit
  23. suit — in cards
  24. content — the amount

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