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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 kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  16. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  23. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. squash — the vegetable
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. bass — the fish
  6. scale — in music
  7. fine — high quality
  8. scale — size or range
  9. band — a ring
  10. degree — temperature
  11. content — happy
  12. spring — a coil
  13. content — the amount
  14. spring — of water
  15. squash — the sport
  16. degree — from a university
  17. fine — all right
  18. band — a music group
  19. squash — to crush
  20. degree — an amount
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fine — a penalty
  23. bass — low music
  24. spring — the season

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