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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 rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  6. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  19. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  20. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. root — the cause
  3. bass — the fish
  4. spring — of water
  5. object — a thing
  6. content — the amount
  7. root — of a plant
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. clip — to cut
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. spring — the season
  12. row — to paddle
  13. spring — a coil
  14. club — a group
  15. clip — for paper
  16. root — of a word
  17. row — a line
  18. object — an aim
  19. row — a quarrel
  20. clip — a video
  21. content — happy
  22. bass — low music
  23. club — for dancing
  24. object — to protest

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