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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. He was locked up in a ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  10. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cell — in a prison
  2. bass — low music
  3. scale — in music
  4. race — humankind
  5. spring — a coil
  6. cell — in biology
  7. race — the arms race
  8. content — happy
  9. lash — a whip stroke
  10. lash — to lash out
  11. spring — of water
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. content — the amount
  15. cell — a phone
  16. race — a contest
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. bass — the fish
  21. scale — size or range
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. spring — the season

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