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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.

Words on the sheet
468
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: cold · bowl · board · content · jam · bass · wake · rash

  1. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  3. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  10. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  11. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  14. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  22. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. board — a flat piece
  3. bass — the instrument
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. board — a committee
  6. cold — not warm
  7. rash — hasty
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. wake — a trail
  10. wake — before a funeral
  11. rash — on the skin
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. bowl — a football final
  14. jam — in traffic
  15. content — happy
  16. bass — low music
  17. board — to get on
  18. bass — the fish
  19. content — the amount
  20. cold — an illness
  21. jam — a tight spot
  22. cold — the Cold War
  23. rash — a series
  24. bowl — to roll

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