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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: foot · bass · current · stick · can · content · tear · straw

  1. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  2. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  10. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  11. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the instrument
  2. tear — from crying
  3. content — happy
  4. tear — to rip
  5. can — to be able to
  6. bass — the fish
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. can — a tin
  11. current — happening now
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. foot — a measure
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. foot — part of the body
  16. bass — low music
  17. current — of water
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. content — the amount
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. can — a tin
  22. tear — from crying
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. current — electric

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