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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  9. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  13. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  22. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  23. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. bowl — to roll
  3. bass — the fish
  4. bass — low music
  5. content — happy
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. foot — a measure
  9. bowl — a football final
  10. file — a document
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. kick — a thrill
  13. branch — a division
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. file — a line of people
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. leaves — to go away
  20. file — a tool
  21. kick — in football
  22. leaves — lets stay
  23. branch — of a tree
  24. foot — the bottom

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