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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. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  3. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  8. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  21. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  22. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. bass — the instrument
  3. fall — the season
  4. content — the amount
  5. rush — to hurry
  6. bass — the fish
  7. straw — to clutch at straws
  8. bass — low music
  9. spring — the season
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. bank — for money
  12. spring — a coil
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. bank — for money
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. snap — to click
  18. spring — of water
  19. fall — to drop
  20. fall — to drop
  21. rush — hurry
  22. bank — of a river
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. rush — a thrill

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