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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 120 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  2. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  12. My father caught me by the ________________.
  13. Did you ________________ the meat?
  14. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  15. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  21. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Check the label for the sugar ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. band — a ring
  2. season — in sport
  3. club — a group
  4. scale — in music
  5. content — happy
  6. racket — for tennis
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. prune — to trim
  9. season — of the year
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. arm — a part of something
  12. arm — part of the body
  13. season — to add flavour
  14. prune — to trim
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. club — for dancing
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. club — for golf
  20. racket — a loud noise
  21. scale — size or range
  22. band — a music group
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. content — the amount

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