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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  9. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. pop — music
  3. last — to go on
  4. last — finally
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. content — happy
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. chip — in a computer
  9. fan — to cool the air
  10. bass — the fish
  11. chip — for betting
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. cold — not warm
  14. last — final
  15. foot — a measure
  16. cold — an illness
  17. foot — part of the body
  18. bass — low music
  19. pop — soda
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. pop — to visit
  22. foot — the bottom
  23. chip — to eat
  24. content — the amount

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