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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  9. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. My mare is ________________ in color.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — the amount
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. bat — the animal
  6. content — happy
  7. bass — the fish
  8. stick — a piece of wood
  9. ruler — for measuring
  10. bass — low music
  11. bay — a part of the sea
  12. cold — an illness
  13. cold — not warm
  14. bay — to keep at bay
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. rash — a series
  18. rash — hasty
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. bay — a horse colour
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. bat — in an idiom

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