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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. current — happening now
  3. content — happy
  4. squash — to crush
  5. content — the amount
  6. chip — to eat
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. current — electric
  9. patient — calm and waiting
  10. squash — the sport
  11. row — a line
  12. rash — on the skin
  13. bass — the fish
  14. chip — for betting
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. patient — a sick person
  19. current — of water
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. rash — hasty
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. row — to paddle
  24. rash — a series

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