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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  3. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  7. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  8. He was locked up in a ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  20. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. file — a tool
  3. hide — to keep secret
  4. craft — boats
  5. bass — the fish
  6. cell — in biology
  7. hide — animal skin
  8. cell — in a prison
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. content — the amount
  11. band — a ring
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. cell — a phone
  15. bass — the instrument
  16. mine — for digging
  17. content — happy
  18. file — a line of people
  19. bass — low music
  20. file — a document
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. craft — a skill
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. band — a music group

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