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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. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. Where did you ________________ them?
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  11. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. He refilled his coffee ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. stick — a piece of wood
  2. content — happy
  3. root — the cause
  4. chest — of your body
  5. mug — to rob
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. bass — the fish
  9. content — the amount
  10. chest — a box
  11. cold — the Cold War
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. wake — a trail
  14. chest — of your body
  15. root — of a word
  16. root — of a plant
  17. bass — low music
  18. mug — a face
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. wake — to stop sleeping
  21. cold — not warm
  22. cold — an illness
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. mug — a cup

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