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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  3. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Don't do anything ________________.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. rash — a series
  3. branch — of a tree
  4. game — wild animals
  5. game — a match
  6. rash — hasty
  7. content — the amount
  8. bass — the fish
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. drill — the tool
  11. branch — of a bank
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. drill — a practice
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. branch — a division
  17. content — happy
  18. bass — low music

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