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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  9. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  18. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. club — a group
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. content — happy
  5. patient — calm and waiting
  6. club — for golf
  7. wound — an injury
  8. patient — a sick person
  9. degree — from a university
  10. capital — money
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. degree — an amount
  13. club — for dancing
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. lean — to rest against
  16. lean — thin
  17. lean — to bend
  18. degree — temperature
  19. capital — a city
  20. patient — a sick person
  21. chip — for betting
  22. wound — an injury
  23. chip — to eat
  24. capital — a big letter

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