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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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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — help
  2. bass — low music
  3. drill — army training
  4. drill — the tool
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. drill — a practice
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. hand — in cards
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. club — for golf
  13. content — the amount
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. bass — the fish
  16. club — a group
  17. content — happy
  18. club — for dancing

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