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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. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  2. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. mine — an explosive
  2. mine — for digging
  3. bass — the fish
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. content — the amount
  11. object — to protest
  12. wake — a trail
  13. chest — of your body
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. date — the fruit
  16. bass — low music
  17. bass — the instrument
  18. object — an aim
  19. chest — of your body
  20. object — a thing
  21. content — happy
  22. chest — a box
  23. wake — before a funeral
  24. date — on the calendar

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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