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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  14. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  15. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  19. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. track — a song
  3. content — happy
  4. bass — the fish
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. game — wild animals
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. net — for catching
  9. content — the amount
  10. face — to point toward
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. fine — high quality
  13. face — to confront
  14. fine — a penalty
  15. dip — to sink
  16. track — to keep track
  17. face — part of the head
  18. dip — to dunk
  19. net — after costs
  20. game — a match
  21. net — in sport
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. fine — all right
  24. bass — low music

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