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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Have you met the new head ________________?
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  17. The ball is in your ________________.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  22. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. bass — low music
  3. spring — of water
  4. spring — a coil
  5. band — a music group
  6. bass — the fish
  7. spring — the season
  8. band — a ring
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. present — a gift
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. content — the amount
  13. coach — a trainer
  14. content — happy
  15. court — of a king
  16. band — a rubber band
  17. court — for sport
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. coach — a trainer
  20. present — the time now
  21. bass — the instrument
  22. coach — pulled by horses
  23. court — of law
  24. ruler — for measuring

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