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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: march · staff · content · ground · stick · bass · chest · squash

  1. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  7. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  19. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. staff — a stick
  2. ground — crushed
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. content — happy
  6. staff — employees
  7. march — the month
  8. staff — employees
  9. ground — a position
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — the amount
  13. march — the month
  14. bass — low music
  15. chest — a box
  16. chest — of your body
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. march — music
  19. chest — of your body
  20. squash — the sport
  21. stick — to attach or keep to
  22. ground — the earth
  23. squash — to crush
  24. bass — the fish

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