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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. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  2. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  3. The light ________________ burned out.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  11. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  12. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  13. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  14. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. I've got to change the light ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pass — a permit
  2. straw — a straw man
  3. bulb — for light
  4. drill — a practice
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. drill — army training
  7. bank — for money
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. bank — of a river
  11. drill — the tool
  12. field — a subject
  13. bank — for money
  14. field — farmland
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. content — the amount
  17. bass — the fish
  18. field — for sport
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. content — happy
  21. bass — low music
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

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