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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  7. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  24. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bass — low music
  3. lean — to bend
  4. rock — a stone
  5. scale — in music
  6. wake — a trail
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. rock — music
  9. scale — size or range
  10. rash — hasty
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — a series
  16. content — the amount
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. lean — thin
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. bass — the fish
  23. lean — to rest against
  24. date — the fruit

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