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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Did you ________________ the meat?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. The ________________ went through the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. content — the amount
  4. game — a match
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. content — happy
  7. march — the month
  8. bass — low music
  9. march — the month
  10. tube — a container
  11. game — wild animals
  12. bass — the fish
  13. deal — to handle
  14. season — to add flavour
  15. season — of the year
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. march — music
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. tube — the underground
  21. season — in sport
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. nail — for a hammer

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