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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 116 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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. The ________________ went through the wall.
  3. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  6. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  7. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  19. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. bear — to put up with
  4. content — the amount
  5. face — part of the head
  6. file — a line of people
  7. face — to point toward
  8. chair — a leader
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. field — a subject
  11. file — a document
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. content — happy
  16. field — for sport
  17. file — a tool
  18. bear — the animal
  19. bear — the animal
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. face — to confront
  22. field — farmland
  23. bass — the fish
  24. chair — to sit on

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