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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 120 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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  6. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  13. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bass — low music
  5. bank — for money
  6. bank — for money
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. saw — past of 'see'
  10. saw — the tool
  11. content — the amount
  12. cabinet — ministers
  13. bank — of a river
  14. game — wild animals
  15. wound — an injury
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. content — happy
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. bass — the fish
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. game — a match
  22. sharp — clever
  23. wound — past of 'wind'
  24. cabinet — ministers

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