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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 am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  12. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  13. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  21. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  22. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.

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

Answer key

  1. fan — a supporter
  2. content — happy
  3. bass — low music
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. chest — of your body
  6. content — the amount
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. wind — moving air
  10. root — of a plant
  11. chest — of your body
  12. ruler — for measuring
  13. cabinet — a cupboard
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. bass — the fish
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. chest — a box
  20. ruler — a monarch
  21. root — of a word
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. wind — moving air
  24. root — the cause

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