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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. What do you think of the new ________________?
  5. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. Have you met the new head ________________?
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  14. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. content — happy
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. cabinet — ministers
  5. cabinet — a cupboard
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. game — wild animals
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. content — the amount
  10. dip — a sauce
  11. dip — to sink
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. dip — to dunk
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bass — the fish
  16. rock — a stone
  17. wound — an injury
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. wound — an injury
  22. bass — low music
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. game — a match

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