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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 116 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. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  3. The ball is in your ________________.
  4. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  5. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  6. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. The ________________ market has crashed.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  23. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  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. bass — low music
  2. court — of a king
  3. court — for sport
  4. cap — a hat
  5. trunk — of a tree
  6. stock — a soup base
  7. wind — moving air
  8. squash — to crush
  9. bass — the fish
  10. wind — moving air
  11. squash — the sport
  12. stock — goods
  13. content — the amount
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. trunk — of a car
  17. cap — a lid
  18. court — of law
  19. cap — of ice
  20. stock — shares
  21. content — happy
  22. trunk — of an elephant
  23. squash — the vegetable
  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