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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  5. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  6. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. content — happy
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. fork — to eat with
  5. sharp — with an edge
  6. rest — what's left
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. squash — the vegetable
  9. content — the amount
  10. sharp — clever
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. fork — in a road
  13. rest — a break
  14. racket — for tennis
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. face — to point toward
  17. squash — the sport
  18. bass — the fish
  19. face — to confront
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. squash — to crush
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. face — part of the head
  24. rest — what's left

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