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

  1. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  4. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. That was a fun ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — to stop sleeping
  2. bass — low music
  3. scale — for weighing
  4. arm — part of the body
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. wake — a trail
  7. scale — in music
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. content — happy
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. bass — the fish
  13. game — a match
  14. scale — size or range
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. game — wild animals
  17. content — the amount
  18. arm — a part of something

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