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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 kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. The supermarket has a large ________________ of merchandise.
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. The ________________ market has crashed.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. What's the difference between broth and ________________?
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. stock — goods
  3. bound — tied together
  4. pass — a permit
  5. club — a group
  6. wind — moving air
  7. stock — shares
  8. bound — obliged
  9. pass — to succeed
  10. ball — a dance
  11. ball — a great time
  12. wind — moving air
  13. capital — a city
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. club — for dancing
  16. capital — a big letter
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. stock — a soup base
  19. content — the amount
  20. content — happy
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. club — for golf
  23. capital — money
  24. bound — certain

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