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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  13. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. It's one o'clock ________________.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. squash — the sport
  3. club — for dancing
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. snap — to snap out of it
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. court — for sport
  8. court — of a king
  9. snap — to click
  10. lash — a whip stroke
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. lash — an eyelash
  13. bound — tied together
  14. court — of law
  15. bound — obliged
  16. club — for golf
  17. squash — the vegetable
  18. club — a group
  19. squash — to crush
  20. content — happy
  21. bound — certain
  22. sharp — exactly
  23. sharp — clever
  24. content — videos and posts

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