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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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. When will it ________________ you to start?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. We're on a ________________ here.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Did you ________________ the button?
  10. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. He is an ace ________________.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  22. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.

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

Answer key

  1. tube — a container
  2. bass — low music
  3. suit — to fit
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. roll — on a roll
  6. content — happy
  7. roll — a cake
  8. bass — the fish
  9. press — to push
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. pitcher — in baseball
  13. tube — the underground
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. tube — in a tire
  16. content — the amount
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. suit — in cards
  20. roll — a list
  21. sharp — clever
  22. press — newspapers
  23. press — a publisher
  24. suit — clothes

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