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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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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 · hand · plane · band · rock · rash · prune · rule

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. hand — in cards
  3. hand — part of the body
  4. hand — help
  5. rule — a law
  6. rash — a series
  7. prune — the fruit
  8. prune — to trim
  9. rock — a stone
  10. band — a music group
  11. prune — to trim
  12. rash — hasty
  13. band — a rubber band
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. plane — a tool
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. rock — music
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. band — a ring
  20. plane — in geometry
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. rule — government
  23. content — the amount
  24. rule — to rule out

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