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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  7. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  17. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. bass — low music
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. content — the amount
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. land — ground
  7. fan — to cool the air
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. spring — of water
  10. safe — out of danger
  11. spring — the season
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. land — a country
  14. bass — the fish
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. pass — a permit
  17. safe — a strongbox
  18. land — to come down
  19. capital — money
  20. pass — to spend time
  21. capital — a city
  22. spring — a coil
  23. content — happy
  24. bass — the instrument

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