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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  14. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  24. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. hand — part of the body
  3. ground — a position
  4. scale — in music
  5. row — to paddle
  6. club — a group
  7. club — for golf
  8. hand — help
  9. scale — size or range
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — the earth
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. stem — of a plant
  14. bore — to tire
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. row — a line
  18. club — for dancing
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. stem — to come from
  21. content — happy
  22. bore — to drill
  23. hand — in cards
  24. stem — a stem cell

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