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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: fan · cold · date · content · chest · rush · racket · bass

  1. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. That must've been a ________________.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  18. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  19. Have you settled on a ________________?
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — a loud noise
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. date — the fruit
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. rush — hurry
  6. chest — of your body
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. chest — of your body
  10. rush — a thrill
  11. content — the amount
  12. bass — low music
  13. cold — not warm
  14. cold — an illness
  15. bass — the fish
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. content — happy
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. chest — a box
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fan — a supporter

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