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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  16. Did you ________________ the button?
  17. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  18. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  19. I've got to change the light ________________.
  20. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. spring — of water
  5. content — happy
  6. spring — the season
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. clip — to cut
  9. bulb — for light
  10. press — a publisher
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. clip — for paper
  13. content — the amount
  14. press — newspapers
  15. clip — a video
  16. press — to push
  17. bulb — of a plant
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. bulb — for light
  20. present — the time now
  21. spring — a coil
  22. present — there
  23. present — a gift
  24. club — a group

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