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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 120 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. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  6. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  7. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  11. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  21. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  22. The King held a masked ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I don't want to ________________ the boat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. ball — a great time
  6. bass — low music
  7. snap — to snap out of it
  8. rock — a stone
  9. degree — from a university
  10. straw — a straw man
  11. degree — an amount
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. snap — to click
  15. key — for a lock
  16. key — in music
  17. degree — temperature
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. rock — music
  21. key — the most important part
  22. ball — a dance
  23. bass — the fish
  24. rock — to move gently

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