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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. When are we going to ________________?
  8. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  9. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. When will it ________________ you to start?
  15. The ball is in your ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  21. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. bass — the fish
  4. suit — in cards
  5. racket — for tennis
  6. season — in sport
  7. land — to come down
  8. racket — a loud noise
  9. court — of law
  10. season — of the year
  11. racket — for tennis
  12. land — a country
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. suit — to fit
  15. court — for sport
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. content — happy
  18. land — ground
  19. court — of a king
  20. suit — clothes
  21. mine — for digging
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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