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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 120 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. What do you think of the new ________________?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  13. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  14. The water is too ________________.
  15. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  16. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  17. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  21. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  22. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  23. The ________________ went through the wall.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. cabinet — ministers
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. racket — for tennis
  5. club — for golf
  6. season — of the year
  7. season — in sport
  8. cold — an illness
  9. content — happy
  10. cabinet — ministers
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. wake — a trail
  14. cold — not warm
  15. cabinet — a cupboard
  16. racket — for tennis
  17. racket — a loud noise
  18. content — the amount
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. nail — on a finger
  21. wake — to stop sleeping
  22. wake — before a funeral
  23. nail — for a hammer
  24. cold — the Cold War

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