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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  10. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  21. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. bass — the fish
  4. fine — high quality
  5. rest — a break
  6. content — the amount
  7. leaves — to go away
  8. rest — what's left
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. leaves — lets stay
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. bass — low music
  14. leaves — of a tree
  15. march — the month
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. rest — what's left
  19. bat — the animal
  20. bat — in an idiom
  21. fine — all right
  22. perch — the fish
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. perch — for a bird

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