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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  3. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  4. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. row — to paddle
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. tear — from crying
  9. row — a line
  10. tear — to rip
  11. mine — for digging
  12. content — the amount
  13. date — the fruit
  14. content — happy
  15. club — for golf
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. tear — from crying
  18. ball — a dance
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. club — for dancing
  21. club — a group
  22. ball — a great time
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. mine — belonging to me

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