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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. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The tickets are free of ________________.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  20. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. Where can I ________________ my mobile?

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. charge — a price
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. game — a match
  5. content — happy
  6. swing — to play on
  7. pop — to visit
  8. swing — in golf
  9. bass — the fish
  10. game — wild animals
  11. pop — music
  12. present — there
  13. object — to protest
  14. object — a thing
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. content — the amount
  18. swing — music
  19. charge — in control
  20. object — an aim
  21. pop — soda
  22. present — the time now
  23. bass — low music
  24. charge — electricity

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