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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. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  4. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  5. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  11. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  12. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  18. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  19. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  22. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a dish
  2. club — for golf
  3. chair — a leader
  4. chair — to sit on
  5. prune — to trim
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. prune — to trim
  8. bowl — a football final
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. prune — the fruit
  11. dip — a sauce
  12. content — videos and posts
  13. content — happy
  14. deal — an agreement
  15. club — for dancing
  16. content — the amount
  17. chair — a professorship
  18. deal — to handle
  19. dip — to sink
  20. sharp — clever
  21. bowl — to roll
  22. sharp — with an edge
  23. club — a group
  24. deal — a big deal

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