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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  9. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. He is an ace ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. present — a gift
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. object — to protest
  8. foot — part of the body
  9. object — a thing
  10. present — there
  11. present — the time now
  12. content — the amount
  13. pitcher — in baseball
  14. object — an aim
  15. bass — the fish
  16. fork — in a road
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. foot — the bottom
  21. content — happy
  22. foot — a measure
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. fork — to eat with

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