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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  4. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  9. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  10. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  11. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  12. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  13. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  23. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  24. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. club — for dancing
  3. perch — for a bird
  4. kick — with a leg
  5. content — the amount
  6. kick — in football
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. roll — a cake
  9. band — a rubber band
  10. pitch — a sales talk
  11. perch — the fish
  12. band — a music group
  13. pitch — a sports field
  14. content — happy
  15. roll — a list
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. band — a ring
  18. club — for golf
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. kick — a thrill
  21. kid — child
  22. kid — to tease
  23. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  24. pitch — completely

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