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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 116 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  9. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  14. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  15. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  16. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  20. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  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. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. cold — the Cold War
  4. content — the amount
  5. deal — to handle
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wind — moving air
  8. rock — a stone
  9. band — a music group
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. content — happy
  13. rock — music
  14. cold — an illness
  15. rest — what's left
  16. rest — a break
  17. band — a ring
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. deal — a big deal
  20. deal — an agreement
  21. wind — moving air
  22. rest — what's left
  23. band — a rubber band
  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