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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 120 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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  10. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  17. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. fork — in a road
  3. bass — low music
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. can — a tin
  7. wind — moving air
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. bat — the animal
  10. current — of water
  11. content — happy
  12. current — happening now
  13. wound — an injury
  14. bass — the instrument
  15. bass — the fish
  16. current — electric
  17. can — a tin
  18. can — to be able to
  19. wind — to turn a key
  20. content — the amount
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. wind — moving air
  24. bat — for baseball

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