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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. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. How do you ________________ your surname?
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  23. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — in cards
  2. club — for dancing
  3. hand — help
  4. scale — for weighing
  5. club — a group
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. track — a path
  8. mine — for digging
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. content — happy
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. spell — a short time
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. spell — letters
  16. scale — in music
  17. club — for golf
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. track — a song
  20. scale — size or range
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. track — to keep track
  23. spell — magic
  24. content — the amount

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