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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  6. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  7. I've got to change the light ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  13. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  14. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  15. The light ________________ burned out.
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. The ________________ market has crashed.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. bulb — of a plant
  3. content — the amount
  4. face — to confront
  5. face — to point toward
  6. face — part of the head
  7. bulb — for light
  8. cap — of ice
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. bass — low music
  11. content — happy
  12. stock — a soup base
  13. cap — a hat
  14. cap — a lid
  15. bulb — for light
  16. stock — goods
  17. rock — to move gently
  18. rock — a stone
  19. bass — the fish
  20. swing — in golf
  21. swing — to play on
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. stock — shares
  24. swing — music

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