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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. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. My mare is ________________ in color.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. present — there
  2. content — the amount
  3. club — a group
  4. cold — not warm
  5. bat — the animal
  6. content — happy
  7. present — a gift
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. content — videos and posts
  10. fork — in a road
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. club — for dancing
  13. cold — an illness
  14. tear — from crying
  15. bay — a horse colour
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. bay — a part of the sea
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. tear — from crying
  20. tear — to rip
  21. club — for golf
  22. present — the time now
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. bay — to keep at bay

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