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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 116 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: content · rule · kick · band · hand · drill · clip · snap

  1. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  2. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  14. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  15. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  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. rule — to rule out
  3. band — a ring
  4. content — happy
  5. clip — to cut
  6. snap — to click
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. hand — in cards
  9. drill — a practice
  10. clip — a video
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. clip — for paper
  13. kick — in football
  14. rule — a law
  15. kick — with a leg
  16. drill — the tool
  17. rule — government
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. hand — help
  20. band — a music group
  21. snap — to snap out of it
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. drill — army training
  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