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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  10. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  11. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  17. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. hand — help
  3. ball — a dance
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — in golf
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. rock — music
  8. swing — to play on
  9. ball — a round shape
  10. rest — a break
  11. rest — what's left
  12. content — the amount
  13. content — happy
  14. spell — letters
  15. spell — a short time
  16. ball — a great time
  17. row — a quarrel
  18. hand — in cards
  19. row — to paddle
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. rest — what's left
  22. row — a line
  23. rock — a stone
  24. spell — magic

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