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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  21. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  22. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. content — the amount
  4. wind — moving air
  5. bass — low music
  6. firm — steady
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. mine — for digging
  9. bass — the fish
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. content — happy
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. wake — a trail
  15. hide — animal skin
  16. wind — moving air
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. firm — a company
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. firm — decided
  21. date — the fruit
  22. hide — to keep secret
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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