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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. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  2. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  20. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  23. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  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. perch — the fish
  2. field — for sport
  3. band — a ring
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. firm — decided
  6. rule — a law
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. firm — a company
  9. content — the amount
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. can — to be able to
  12. bass — low music
  13. field — a subject
  14. can — a tin
  15. bass — the fish
  16. band — a music group
  17. rule — to rule out
  18. content — happy
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. rule — government
  21. field — farmland
  22. firm — steady
  23. can — a tin
  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