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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  14. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  18. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bass — low music
  3. board — a committee
  4. bear — the animal
  5. content — the amount
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. mine — for digging
  8. mine — an explosive
  9. clip — for paper
  10. net — for catching
  11. net — in sport
  12. bass — the fish
  13. swing — in golf
  14. bear — to put up with
  15. net — after costs
  16. content — happy
  17. bear — the animal
  18. swing — music
  19. clip — a video
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. board — to get on
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. clip — to cut
  24. swing — to play on

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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