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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. When will it ________________ you to start?
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. False peace will not ________________.
  9. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  14. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  23. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  24. The spa offers ________________ extensions.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. suit — to fit
  3. club — for dancing
  4. last — final
  5. last — finally
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. club — for golf
  8. last — to go on
  9. content — happy
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. lash — a whip stroke
  14. trunk — of a car
  15. club — a group
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. fork — in a road
  18. suit — clothes
  19. wound — an injury
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. wound — an injury
  22. content — videos and posts
  23. suit — in cards
  24. lash — an eyelash

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