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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  5. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  6. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  7. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  24. He was locked up in a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. craft — a skill
  3. bass — low music
  4. mark — to pay attention
  5. mark — a trace
  6. pitch — completely
  7. cell — a phone
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. content — happy
  10. bass — the fish
  11. craft — boats
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. pitch — a sales talk
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. mark — a grade
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. kid — to tease
  23. cell — in biology
  24. cell — in a prison

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