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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  9. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. The ________________ market has crashed.
  22. I've got to change the light ________________.
  23. Did you ________________ the meat?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. content — the amount
  3. bulb — for light
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. mine — for digging
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. content — happy
  8. season — of the year
  9. staff — employees
  10. bass — low music
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. staff — a stick
  13. chest — of your body
  14. stock — goods
  15. season — in sport
  16. staff — employees
  17. chest — of your body
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. chest — a box
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. stock — shares
  22. bulb — for light
  23. season — to add flavour
  24. bass — the fish

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