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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. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  2. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  16. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cold — an illness
  2. bank — for money
  3. bass — the fish
  4. fine — high quality
  5. ball — a great time
  6. ball — a round shape
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. bass — low music
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. fine — all right
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bank — for money
  13. shower — to wash
  14. content — happy
  15. bowl — a dish
  16. bank — of a river
  17. shower — rain
  18. cold — the Cold War
  19. cold — not warm
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. bowl — a football final
  22. ball — a dance
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. content — the amount

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