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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 116 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. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  2. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  6. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wake — before a funeral
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. content — happy
  5. straw — dry grass
  6. present — there
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. cabinet — a cupboard
  9. content — the amount
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. present — a gift
  12. wake — a trail
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. stick — a piece of wood
  16. bass — low music
  17. bass — the fish
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. present — the time now
  23. cabinet — ministers
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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