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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I can't ________________ this cold.
  8. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  9. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  24. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. swing — in golf
  3. wound — an injury
  4. content — the amount
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — a group
  7. stand — to bear
  8. swing — music
  9. cap — a lid
  10. swing — to play on
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. cap — of ice
  13. race — a contest
  14. wound — past of 'wind'
  15. race — the arms race
  16. club — for dancing
  17. scale — size or range
  18. stand — on your feet
  19. wound — an injury
  20. scale — in music
  21. content — happy
  22. race — humankind
  23. cap — a hat
  24. stand — for spectators

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