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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. club — for golf
  3. wind — moving air
  4. chip — to eat
  5. rash — a series
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. rash — hasty
  8. content — happy
  9. cap — a hat
  10. content — videos and posts
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. chip — in a computer
  13. chip — for betting
  14. wind — moving air
  15. club — a group
  16. cap — a lid
  17. cap — of ice
  18. club — for dancing

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