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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. David sat on the ________________.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  9. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  10. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. My father caught me by the ________________.
  15. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  16. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  17. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  24. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. content — the amount
  3. field — a subject
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. swing — in golf
  6. swing — to play on
  7. field — for sport
  8. perch — the fish
  9. swing — music
  10. wound — an injury
  11. field — farmland
  12. press — newspapers
  13. wound — an injury
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. content — happy
  16. arm — a part of something
  17. arm — part of the body
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. club — a group
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. press — to push
  22. club — for golf
  23. press — a publisher
  24. perch — for a bird

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