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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  7. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. I can't ________________ this cold.
  20. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  21. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. craft — a skill
  4. craft — boats
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. chest — a box
  7. chest — of your body
  8. band — a ring
  9. ground — a position
  10. squash — to crush
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. content — the amount
  14. ground — the earth
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. ground — crushed
  17. stand — for spectators
  18. sharp — clever
  19. stand — to bear
  20. stand — on your feet
  21. craft — a handicraft
  22. content — happy
  23. band — a music group
  24. chest — of your body

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