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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 116 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  7. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  8. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  9. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  15. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. face — part of the head
  5. bass — the fish
  6. prune — to trim
  7. face — to confront
  8. mark — a trace
  9. bound — tied together
  10. bass — low music
  11. saw — past of 'see'
  12. bound — obliged
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. face — to point toward
  15. prune — to trim
  16. mark — a grade
  17. saw — the tool
  18. bass — the instrument
  19. scale — size or range
  20. bound — certain
  21. content — the amount
  22. scale — in music
  23. saw — the tool
  24. mark — to pay attention

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