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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  5. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  14. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  24. Don't do anything ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. cold — an illness
  3. bass — the fish
  4. cold — the Cold War
  5. chair — a leader
  6. prune — to trim
  7. bass — low music
  8. pop — soda
  9. foot — the bottom
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. content — the amount
  12. cold — not warm
  13. foot — part of the body
  14. chair — a professorship
  15. prune — to trim
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. rash — a series
  19. pop — music
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. content — happy
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. foot — a measure
  24. rash — hasty

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