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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. You don't need to ________________ round.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. We're almost out of ________________.
  4. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  10. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  21. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — to visit
  2. bass — low music
  3. pop — soda
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. fall — to drop
  10. fall — the season
  11. hand — in cards
  12. content — happy
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. season — in sport
  15. season — of the year
  16. content — the amount
  17. hand — help
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. bass — the fish
  20. pop — music
  21. hand — part of the body
  22. fall — to drop
  23. racket — a loud noise
  24. fork — in a road

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