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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  16. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  17. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. branch — of a bank
  3. cue — for pool
  4. cue — a hint
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. content — happy
  7. branch — a division
  8. snap — to snap out of it
  9. bass — the fish
  10. branch — of a tree
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. snap — to click
  15. cue — a signal
  16. deal — a big deal
  17. deal — an agreement
  18. deal — to handle
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. shower — rain
  21. fork — in a road
  22. content — the amount
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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