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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  10. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  11. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  12. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  13. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. This piece is in a major ________________.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  23. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. field — farmland
  5. club — a group
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. key — the most important part
  10. staff — a stick
  11. key — for a lock
  12. ball — a great time
  13. sharp — clever
  14. club — for dancing
  15. ball — a round shape
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. field — for sport
  18. ball — a dance
  19. key — in music
  20. field — a subject
  21. content — happy
  22. staff — employees
  23. staff — employees
  24. club — for golf

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