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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  13. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. cue — for pool
  3. club — a group
  4. race — humankind
  5. kid — to tease
  6. race — a contest
  7. season — in sport
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. kid — child
  10. pound — a weight
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. cue — a hint
  13. cue — a signal
  14. content — happy
  15. pound — for dogs
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. race — the arms race
  20. content — the amount
  21. season — of the year
  22. club — for dancing
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. club — for golf

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