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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. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  19. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — army training
  2. club — for golf
  3. rest — a break
  4. chest — of your body
  5. club — for dancing
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. content — happy
  9. ground — a position
  10. rest — what's left
  11. pitch — a sports field
  12. rest — what's left
  13. content — the amount
  14. ground — the earth
  15. drill — a practice
  16. club — a group
  17. ground — crushed
  18. pitch — a sales talk
  19. fork — in a road
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. chest — of your body
  22. drill — the tool
  23. pitch — completely
  24. chest — a box

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