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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  6. He was locked up in a ________________.
  7. What do you think of the new ________________?
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  14. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. You don't need to ________________ round.
  17. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  20. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  21. It's one o'clock ________________.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rock — music
  3. cell — a phone
  4. content — happy
  5. sharp — clever
  6. cell — in a prison
  7. cabinet — ministers
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. rock — a stone
  11. rash — a series
  12. pop — soda
  13. scale — for weighing
  14. content — the amount
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. pop — to visit
  17. cell — in biology
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. cabinet — a cupboard
  20. cabinet — ministers
  21. sharp — exactly
  22. pop — music
  23. scale — in music
  24. scale — size or range

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