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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. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  16. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  17. He was locked up in a ________________.
  18. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. cell — a phone
  3. content — happy
  4. bass — the fish
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. chest — a box
  8. bass — low music
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. cell — in biology
  11. chest — of your body
  12. content — the amount
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. chest — of your body
  15. wake — to stop sleeping
  16. pound — for dogs
  17. cell — in a prison
  18. pound — to hit hard
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. wake — a trail
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. pound — a weight

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