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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. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  4. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  8. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  9. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  10. What do you think of the new ________________?
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  24. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. club — a group
  3. prune — to trim
  4. wound — an injury
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. wind — moving air
  7. content — videos and posts
  8. prune — the fruit
  9. cabinet — a cupboard
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. wind — moving air
  13. ground — a position
  14. ground — the earth
  15. bowl — a football final
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. club — for dancing
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. content — the amount
  20. prune — to trim
  21. club — for golf
  22. ground — crushed
  23. bowl — to roll
  24. content — happy

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