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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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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: content · pound · bass · hand · club · mark · craft · cell

  1. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  2. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  18. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  23. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. craft — boats
  2. bass — low music
  3. club — for dancing
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. hand — help
  8. content — happy
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. cell — in biology
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. hand — in cards
  13. content — the amount
  14. club — for golf
  15. mark — to pay attention
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. mark — a grade
  18. pound — a weight
  19. club — a group
  20. bass — the fish
  21. craft — a skill
  22. pound — for dogs
  23. cell — a phone
  24. mark — a trace

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