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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. The ________________ took off on time.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. plane — an aircraft
  2. rock — music
  3. pitch — a sports field
  4. rock — a stone
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. content — the amount
  7. bass — low music
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. bass — the fish
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. wave — of the sea
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. bat — the animal
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to bend
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. wave — a sudden rise
  21. plane — a tool
  22. content — happy
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. pitch — completely

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