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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. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  2. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  13. The water is too ________________.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. It's one o'clock ________________.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. When will it ________________ you to start?
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. net — in sport
  2. drill — a practice
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. suit — in cards
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. squash — the sport
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. squash — to crush
  10. content — happy
  11. cold — an illness
  12. drill — the tool
  13. cold — not warm
  14. suit — clothes
  15. net — after costs
  16. sharp — clever
  17. sharp — exactly
  18. drill — army training
  19. content — the amount
  20. net — for catching
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. club — a group
  23. suit — to fit
  24. sharp — with an edge

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