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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  11. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  20. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. file — a tool
  4. spell — letters
  5. bat — the animal
  6. file — a document
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. spell — magic
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. file — a line of people
  13. content — the amount
  14. bass — low music
  15. spell — a short time
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. present — the time now
  18. content — happy
  19. present — there
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. sharp — clever
  23. present — a gift
  24. bat — for baseball

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