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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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  6. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  7. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  15. I can't ________________ this cold.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. The King held a masked ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. lie — to recline
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. game — wild animals
  5. degree — from a university
  6. ball — a great time
  7. lie — an untruth
  8. content — the amount
  9. band — a ring
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bass — the fish
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. lie — an untruth
  15. stand — to bear
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. content — happy
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. ball — a dance
  21. bass — low music
  22. band — a music group
  23. degree — temperature
  24. degree — an amount

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