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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. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  2. My father caught me by the ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  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. last — finally
  2. arm — part of the body
  3. spring — a coil
  4. club — for golf
  5. content — happy
  6. pop — soda
  7. bowl — a dish
  8. pop — to visit
  9. spring — of water
  10. arm — a part of something
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. bowl — to roll
  13. squash — to crush
  14. last — to go on
  15. club — for dancing
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. content — the amount
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. squash — the sport
  21. spring — the season
  22. last — final
  23. pop — music
  24. club — a group

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