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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  7. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bass — the fish
  3. rock — music
  4. game — wild animals
  5. rash — a series
  6. pass — a permit
  7. rock — to move gently
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. branch — a division
  10. drill — army training
  11. rash — hasty
  12. game — a match
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. game — a kind of play
  16. drill — the tool
  17. content — the amount
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. drill — a practice
  20. content — happy
  21. rock — a stone
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. bass — low music
  24. bass — the instrument

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