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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: bank · hand · pop · content · net · bulb · band · track

  1. The light ________________ burned out.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. I've got to change the light ________________.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  9. You don't need to ________________ round.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bulb — for light
  2. track — a song
  3. bank — of a river
  4. content — happy
  5. bulb — for light
  6. track — a path
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. bulb — of a plant
  9. pop — to visit
  10. track — to keep track
  11. hand — in cards
  12. band — a music group
  13. net — in sport
  14. bank — for money
  15. hand — help
  16. band — a ring
  17. bank — for money
  18. pop — music
  19. net — after costs
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. content — the amount
  23. net — for catching
  24. pop — soda

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