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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. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. Have you met the new head ________________?
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  22. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. wind — moving air
  5. wind — moving air
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. content — the amount
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. foot — the bottom
  15. content — happy
  16. club — for dancing
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — a group
  19. bass — the fish
  20. foot — a measure
  21. sharp — with an edge
  22. mine — for digging
  23. sharp — clever
  24. coach — a trainer

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