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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.

Make a worksheet

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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Word bank
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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 pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. Have you met the new head ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. game — wild animals
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. coach — a trainer
  5. land — ground
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. bass — the fish
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bass — low music
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. present — a gift
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. land — a country
  15. content — the amount
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. game — a match
  19. present — there
  20. land — to come down
  21. straw — dry grass
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. present — the time now

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