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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  6. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  10. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  15. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. Don't do anything ________________.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. bowl — a football final
  3. ground — the earth
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bound — tied together
  6. clip — to cut
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. content — the amount
  9. bound — obliged
  10. rash — a series
  11. cell — a phone
  12. clip — for paper
  13. bass — low music
  14. cell — in biology
  15. bowl — to roll
  16. ground — crushed
  17. rash — hasty
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. bowl — a dish
  20. clip — a video
  21. bound — certain
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. content — happy
  24. ground — a position

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