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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  3. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  4. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. scale — in music
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. straw — a straw man
  5. content — the amount
  6. spring — the season
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. bass — the fish
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. content — happy
  11. bark — to shout
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. bass — low music
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. bark — of a tree
  17. spring — a coil
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. bark — a dog's sound
  20. spring — of water
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. safe — a strongbox
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. content — videos and posts

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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