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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. How do you ________________ your surname?
  4. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  9. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  10. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. content — happy
  3. spell — letters
  4. season — in sport
  5. bass — low music
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. spell — magic
  8. lie — an untruth
  9. lie — an untruth
  10. foot — a measure
  11. rash — hasty
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. season — of the year
  15. present — a gift
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. present — there
  18. rash — a series
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. content — the amount
  21. present — the time now
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. spell — a short time
  24. lie — to recline

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