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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: bass · fine · drill · hand · content · race · stick · mate

  1. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  14. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  17. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Have you found your soul ________________?
  20. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — all right
  2. hand — help
  3. content — the amount
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. drill — the tool
  6. mate — to breed
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. drill — a practice
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. race — humankind
  13. content — videos and posts
  14. race — a contest
  15. race — the arms race
  16. bass — the fish
  17. fine — high quality
  18. drill — army training
  19. mate — a partner
  20. fine — a penalty
  21. content — happy
  22. bass — low music
  23. mate — a friend
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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