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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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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: cell · wind · bass · content · temple · arm · file · drill

  1. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. My father caught me by the ________________.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. He was locked up in a ________________.
  11. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  17. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. When was this ________________ built?

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

Answer key

  1. bass — the fish
  2. content — happy
  3. cell — in biology
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. temple — a place of worship
  6. wind — moving air
  7. arm — part of the body
  8. file — a line of people
  9. drill — a practice
  10. cell — in a prison
  11. cell — a phone
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. arm — a part of something
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. file — a tool
  17. bass — low music
  18. wind — moving air
  19. drill — army training
  20. content — the amount
  21. file — a document
  22. drill — the tool
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. temple — a place of worship

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