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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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  8. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. The ________________ went through the wall.
  19. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  20. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  21. I can't ________________ this cold.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — to cool the air
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. content — the amount
  4. degree — an amount
  5. bass — the fish
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. arm — a part of something
  8. face — to confront
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. face — part of the head
  11. bass — low music
  12. stand — for spectators
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. degree — from a university
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. face — to point toward
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. degree — temperature
  20. arm — part of the body
  21. stand — to bear
  22. content — happy
  23. nail — on a finger
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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