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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. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  2. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  4. The King held a masked ________________.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  8. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  14. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  15. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  16. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  24. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — belonging to me
  2. content — the amount
  3. swing — music
  4. ball — a dance
  5. rock — music
  6. swing — to play on
  7. craft — a handicraft
  8. craft — boats
  9. last — final
  10. last — to go on
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. mine — for digging
  13. ball — a great time
  14. content — videos and posts
  15. last — finally
  16. ball — a round shape
  17. game — wild animals
  18. rock — a stone
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. game — a match
  22. content — happy
  23. swing — in golf
  24. craft — a skill

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