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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  19. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. land — a country
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. content — happy
  5. pitch — completely
  6. content — the amount
  7. bass — the fish
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. cue — a hint
  14. bass — low music
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. land — to come down
  17. sharp — clever
  18. cue — a signal
  19. pitch — a sports field
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. land — ground
  23. cue — for pool
  24. fine — all right

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