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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. We're on a ________________ here.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  7. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  10. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  16. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  19. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. content — the amount
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. roll — on a roll
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. roll — a list
  7. dip — a sauce
  8. swing — to play on
  9. roll — a cake
  10. calf — a young animal
  11. spell — a short time
  12. swing — music
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. spell — magic
  15. track — to keep track
  16. track — a song
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. track — a path
  19. dip — to dunk
  20. bass — the fish
  21. dip — to sink
  22. swing — in golf
  23. content — happy
  24. spell — letters

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