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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. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  5. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  13. What do you think of the new ________________?
  14. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  17. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  20. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. bass — low music
  4. stick — to attach or keep to
  5. capital — a big letter
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. hand — in cards
  8. capital — money
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. capital — a city
  11. content — the amount
  12. hand — help
  13. cabinet — ministers
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. track — a path
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. cabinet — ministers
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — happy
  20. cabinet — a cupboard
  21. track — a song
  22. track — to keep track
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. hand — part of the body

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