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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The ________________ took off on time.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  13. It's one o'clock ________________.
  14. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  15. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  21. Have you met the new head ________________?
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. sharp — with an edge
  3. content — happy
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. squash — to crush
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. row — to paddle
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. plane — an aircraft
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. content — the amount
  12. sharp — clever
  13. sharp — exactly
  14. row — a line
  15. mark — a grade
  16. bass — low music
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. mark — a trace
  21. coach — a trainer
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. plane — a tool
  24. bass — the fish

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