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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. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  19. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. bass — low music
  4. kick — a thrill
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. swing — music
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. cap — of ice
  9. bass — the fish
  10. kick — with a leg
  11. kick — in football
  12. swing — in golf
  13. cap — a hat
  14. content — the amount
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. shower — rain
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. shower — to wash
  19. bark — to shout
  20. content — happy
  21. swing — to play on
  22. cap — a lid
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. cabinet — a cupboard

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