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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  9. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. There's no middle ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  21. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. chest — of your body
  5. track — a path
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. ground — crushed
  8. chest — a box
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. net — for catching
  11. court — of a king
  12. net — after costs
  13. court — for sport
  14. content — the amount
  15. ground — a position
  16. content — happy
  17. ground — the earth
  18. bass — the fish
  19. court — of law
  20. pitcher — a jug
  21. chest — of your body
  22. track — a song
  23. track — to keep track
  24. bass — low music

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