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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  2. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  5. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. mouse — the animal
  2. wound — an injury
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. face — to point toward
  5. court — of law
  6. game — a match
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. face — part of the head
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. face — to confront
  11. court — of a king
  12. bass — low music
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. band — a music group
  15. wound — an injury
  16. court — for sport
  17. bass — the fish
  18. game — wild animals
  19. content — the amount
  20. band — a ring
  21. content — happy
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. band — a rubber band

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