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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  5. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. The water is too ________________.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. rock — to move gently
  3. chest — of your body
  4. rock — music
  5. safe — out of danger
  6. chest — of your body
  7. calf — of the leg
  8. rock — a stone
  9. cold — an illness
  10. content — happy
  11. cold — not warm
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — the amount
  14. bass — low music
  15. safe — out of danger
  16. chest — a box
  17. cold — the Cold War
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. safe — a strongbox
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. calf — a young animal

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