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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. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  13. Have you settled on a ________________?
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. We're almost out of ________________.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  22. That must've been a ________________.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. nail — on a finger
  3. bass — low music
  4. bark — to shout
  5. pop — music
  6. pop — to visit
  7. date — the fruit
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. row — to paddle
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. content — happy
  12. bark — of a tree
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. rush — hurry
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. pop — soda
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. content — the amount
  21. row — a line
  22. rush — a thrill
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. bass — the instrument

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