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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 116 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. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  3. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  4. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  5. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  6. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. David sat on the ________________.
  14. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  20. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. capital — money
  3. object — to protest
  4. bass — the instrument
  5. race — a contest
  6. bass — the fish
  7. content — happy
  8. race — the arms race
  9. bass — low music
  10. swing — in golf
  11. race — humankind
  12. club — for golf
  13. swing — to play on
  14. object — an aim
  15. swing — music
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. rest — a break
  18. content — the amount
  19. object — a thing
  20. rest — what's left
  21. club — a group
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  24. rest — what's left

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