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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 fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The ________________ went through the wall.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. content — happy
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. club — for golf
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. content — the amount
  10. club — a group
  11. bass — low music
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. court — of law
  14. court — for sport
  15. court — of a king
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger

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