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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. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. The King held a masked ________________.
  16. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  21. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. toast — bread
  3. club — for golf
  4. craft — boats
  5. swing — to play on
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. ball — a great time
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. toast — a drink to someone
  10. club — for dancing
  11. toast — the most admired
  12. swing — in golf
  13. craft — a handicraft
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. ball — a dance
  16. content — happy
  17. content — the amount
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. shower — rain
  20. fork — in a road
  21. craft — a skill
  22. club — a group
  23. shower — to wash
  24. swing — music

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