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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ market has crashed.
  11. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bat — the animal
  3. march — the month
  4. hand — in cards
  5. march — music
  6. content — the amount
  7. ruler — for measuring
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. stock — shares
  11. hand — part of the body
  12. squash — to crush
  13. content — happy
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. ruler — a monarch
  16. hand — help
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. bass — low music
  19. stock — goods
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. squash — the sport
  22. stock — a soup base
  23. march — the month
  24. bass — the instrument

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