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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 120 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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  15. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  16. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  24. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. content — the amount
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. row — to paddle
  5. bass — low music
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. bass — the fish
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. ruler — for measuring
  12. club — a group
  13. row — a line
  14. wake — a trail
  15. fork — a garden tool
  16. cell — a phone
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — for dancing
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. ruler — for measuring
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. fork — in a road
  23. ruler — a monarch
  24. cell — in biology

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