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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 116 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. That must've been a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  12. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  16. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  22. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bass — low music
  3. rush — a thrill
  4. rush — hurry
  5. court — of law
  6. branch — of a bank
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. branch — of a tree
  9. court — for sport
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. branch — a division
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. march — music
  14. rash — hasty
  15. rush — to hurry
  16. patient — calm and waiting
  17. content — happy
  18. march — the month
  19. content — the amount
  20. rash — a series
  21. patient — a sick person
  22. court — of a king
  23. march — the month
  24. rash — on the skin

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