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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. You don't need to ________________ round.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  10. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. bass — the fish
  4. pop — to visit
  5. content — the amount
  6. rest — a break
  7. chip — for betting
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. row — to paddle
  10. row — a line
  11. pop — music
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. wound — an injury
  14. rest — what's left
  15. bass — low music
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. pop — soda
  18. rest — what's left
  19. cold — not warm
  20. chip — in a computer
  21. content — happy
  22. chip — to eat
  23. cold — an illness
  24. wound — an injury

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