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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  5. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  6. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  21. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  22. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. 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. club — a group
  2. wind — moving air
  3. date — the fruit
  4. craft — a handicraft
  5. capital — money
  6. wind — to turn a key
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. season — in sport
  11. club — for golf
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. content — happy
  15. season — of the year
  16. date — on the calendar
  17. bat — the animal
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. craft — boats
  20. wind — moving air
  21. content — the amount
  22. capital — a city
  23. craft — a skill
  24. 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