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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. That was a fun ________________.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. bass — low music
  3. content — the amount
  4. ground — the earth
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. ground — a position
  8. game — a match
  9. craft — a skill
  10. bat — for baseball
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. craft — boats
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. pound — for dogs
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. game — wild animals
  17. content — happy
  18. branch — a division
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. bat — the animal
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. pound — a weight
  23. bass — the fish
  24. ground — crushed

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