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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  5. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  6. What do you think of the new ________________?
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  12. Don't do anything ________________.
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. This piece is in a major ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  21. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. pop — music
  3. content — happy
  4. key — the most important part
  5. rash — on the skin
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. content — the amount
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. cabinet — ministers
  12. rash — hasty
  13. bark — to shout
  14. key — for a lock
  15. pop — to visit
  16. key — in music
  17. bass — low music
  18. bark — of a tree
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. bark — a dog's sound
  21. pass — to succeed
  22. rash — a series
  23. pop — soda
  24. pass — a permit

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