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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  13. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  17. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  23. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  24. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. stick — a piece of wood
  6. bat — the animal
  7. rash — a series
  8. rash — hasty
  9. mug — to rob
  10. scale — in music
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bass — the fish
  13. bass — the instrument
  14. bass — low music
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. stick — to attach or keep to
  17. mug — a cup
  18. scale — size or range
  19. content — happy
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. content — the amount
  22. mine — belonging to me
  23. mug — a face
  24. bat — in an idiom

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