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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wind — moving air
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. content — happy
  6. club — for golf
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. content — the amount
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. scale — in music
  15. wind — moving air
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. scale — size or range
  23. club — a group
  24. fan — a supporter

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