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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 King held a masked ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. He works in a ________________ mill.
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  24. She's very handy with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a dance
  2. ball — a great time
  3. saw — the tool
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. club — for golf
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. bass — the fish
  8. race — humankind
  9. club — for dancing
  10. content — the amount
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. bass — low music
  14. content — happy
  15. race — the arms race
  16. race — a contest
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. club — a group
  19. band — a ring
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. band — a music group
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. saw — the tool

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