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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  6. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  7. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  16. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  17. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  18. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  19. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. chest — of your body
  3. content — the amount
  4. bass — low music
  5. race — the arms race
  6. band — a ring
  7. foot — part of the body
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. foot — a measure
  10. tear — to rip
  11. band — a rubber band
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. foot — the bottom
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. race — a contest
  16. date — the fruit
  17. chest — a box
  18. tear — from crying
  19. race — humankind
  20. band — a music group
  21. content — happy
  22. tear — from crying
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. chest — of your body

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