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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  8. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. content — happy
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. race — humankind
  8. cap — a lid
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. cap — a hat
  13. race — a contest
  14. content — the amount
  15. bass — low music
  16. race — the arms race
  17. cap — of ice
  18. chair — a leader

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