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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 120 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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  3. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  8. When was this ________________ built?
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  19. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. row — a line
  3. shower — rain
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. bass — the fish
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. temple — a place of worship
  8. temple — a place of worship
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. shower — to wash
  12. temple — side of the head
  13. sharp — clever
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. stem — to come from
  16. row — to paddle
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. stem — a stem cell
  19. pass — a permit
  20. content — the amount
  21. pass — to spend time
  22. bass — low music
  23. content — happy
  24. row — a quarrel

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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