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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 120 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  6. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. My father caught me by the ________________.
  23. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  24. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. content — happy
  3. cap — a hat
  4. cap — a lid
  5. arm — a part of something
  6. rush — hurry
  7. saw — the tool
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. saw — the tool
  10. spring — a coil
  11. cap — of ice
  12. saw — past of 'see'
  13. content — the amount
  14. rush — to hurry
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. club — a group
  17. spring — of water
  18. lash — an eyelash
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. spring — the season
  21. club — for dancing
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. lash — a whip stroke
  24. lash — to lash out

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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