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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. I can't ________________ this cold.
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. content — happy
  3. cap — a lid
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. stand — to bear
  6. track — a path
  7. club — for golf
  8. cap — of ice
  9. track — to keep track
  10. bat — in an idiom
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. stand — on your feet
  13. wound — an injury
  14. wound — an injury
  15. content — the amount
  16. scale — in music
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. cap — a hat
  19. bat — the animal
  20. scale — size or range
  21. track — a song
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. club — a group
  24. club — for dancing

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