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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. He's quite ________________, isn't he?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. swing — to play on
  4. squash — the sport
  5. track — a path
  6. present — there
  7. squash — to crush
  8. fall — to drop
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. track — to keep track
  13. present — the time now
  14. fall — to drop
  15. swing — music
  16. present — a gift
  17. fall — the season
  18. content — happy
  19. content — the amount
  20. bass — the fish
  21. swing — in golf
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. track — a song
  24. sharp — clever

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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