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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  12. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. bass — low music
  3. rash — on the skin
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. hide — animal skin
  10. degree — from a university
  11. mouse — the animal
  12. mouse — for a computer
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. snap — to click
  15. bass — the fish
  16. content — the amount
  17. content — happy
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. degree — temperature
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. rash — a series
  22. deal — to handle
  23. degree — an amount
  24. hide — to keep secret

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