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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. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  12. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  18. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  19. Have you met the new head ________________?
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. content — the amount
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. coach — pulled by horses
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. bass — low music
  7. pass — to succeed
  8. content — happy
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. pass — to spend time
  12. snap — to click
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bear — the animal
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. mine — for digging
  17. bear — the animal
  18. pass — a permit
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. bass — the fish
  21. wind — moving air
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. bear — to put up with
  24. content — videos and posts

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