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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. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. That was a fun ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. trunk — of an elephant
  4. wound — an injury
  5. bass — the fish
  6. content — the amount
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. bass — low music
  9. game — wild animals
  10. wound — an injury
  11. present — there
  12. drill — army training
  13. present — a gift
  14. stand — to bear
  15. trunk — of a tree
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. drill — the tool
  18. content — happy
  19. wound — past of 'wind'
  20. drill — a practice
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. game — a match
  23. present — the time now
  24. game — a kind of play

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