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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. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  3. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  4. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  22. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. race — humankind
  3. bowl — a football final
  4. bass — low music
  5. present — a gift
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. present — there
  8. present — the time now
  9. swing — in golf
  10. swing — to play on
  11. bank — for money
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. content — the amount
  14. race — the arms race
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bank — of a river
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. bass — the fish
  20. band — a ring
  21. bank — for money
  22. race — a contest
  23. swing — music
  24. band — a music group

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