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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  8. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  9. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bass — low music
  3. content — the amount
  4. chest — of your body
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. sharp — clever
  7. bank — for money
  8. mark — to pay attention
  9. mark — a trace
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. chest — of your body
  14. bank — for money
  15. chest — a box
  16. mark — a grade
  17. tube — a container
  18. content — happy
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. band — a ring
  21. tube — the underground
  22. bass — the fish
  23. band — a music group
  24. bank — of a river

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