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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 120 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. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  6. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  11. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — crushed
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. bat — in an idiom
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. mark — to pay attention
  6. mark — a grade
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. fine — high quality
  11. fine — all right
  12. bass — low music
  13. ground — the earth
  14. wind — moving air
  15. mark — a trace
  16. ground — a position
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. kid — child
  19. content — happy
  20. wind — moving air
  21. bat — the animal
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. bass — the fish
  24. content — the amount

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