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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The ________________ market has crashed.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  8. The water is too ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  21. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  24. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. stock — shares
  3. club — for dancing
  4. drill — the tool
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. club — a group
  7. land — a country
  8. cold — not warm
  9. content — the amount
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a round shape
  12. cold — an illness
  13. land — to come down
  14. bass — the fish
  15. drill — a practice
  16. club — for golf
  17. drill — army training
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. land — ground
  21. bass — low music
  22. content — happy
  23. stock — goods
  24. ball — a great time

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