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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  4. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  5. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  9. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  16. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  22. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  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. bass — the fish
  2. fall — to drop
  3. pit — a fruit stone
  4. chest — of your body
  5. pound — a weight
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. fall — to drop
  9. nail — for a hammer
  10. content — happy
  11. bass — low music
  12. fall — the season
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. can — a tin
  15. pit — a hole
  16. chest — of your body
  17. content — the amount
  18. can — to be able to
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. chest — a box
  21. pound — for dogs
  22. can — a tin
  23. pit — in a race
  24. content — videos and posts

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