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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 like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. dip — to dunk
  2. club — for dancing
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. band — a ring
  5. content — the amount
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. chest — of your body
  9. band — a music group
  10. coach — pulled by horses
  11. field — for sport
  12. club — for golf
  13. field — a subject
  14. dip — a sauce
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. field — farmland
  18. content — happy
  19. chest — a box
  20. chest — of your body
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. dip — to sink
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. club — a group

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