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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Don't do anything ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I can't ________________ this cold.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. My mare is ________________ in color.
  12. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. rash — hasty
  3. content — the amount
  4. tube — the underground
  5. content — happy
  6. stand — to bear
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. bay — to keep at bay
  9. bass — low music
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. bay — a horse colour
  12. tube — in a tire
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. tube — a container
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. rash — a series
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. stand — for spectators
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. fork — in a road
  23. stand — on your feet
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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