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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  2. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  3. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. The ________________ market has crashed.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  23. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — low music
  2. wave — a sudden rise
  3. lean — to bend
  4. pit — a hole
  5. pit — in a race
  6. net — in sport
  7. content — happy
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. stock — shares
  10. march — the month
  11. content — the amount
  12. pit — a fruit stone
  13. march — the month
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. net — after costs
  16. stock — goods
  17. march — music
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. lean — thin
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. net — for catching
  22. wave — of the sea
  23. stock — a soup base
  24. bass — the fish

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