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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  4. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  7. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  16. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. She's very handy with a ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  22. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. pitch — a sales talk
  4. band — a rubber band
  5. saw — the tool
  6. swing — music
  7. bark — to shout
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. content — happy
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. content — the amount
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. scale — for weighing
  16. pitch — completely
  17. swing — in golf
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. saw — the tool
  20. band — a ring
  21. fan — to cool the air
  22. scale — in music
  23. swing — to play on
  24. band — a music group

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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