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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. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  7. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  8. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  9. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  10. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  13. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — to crush
  2. club — for golf
  3. content — happy
  4. squash — the sport
  5. present — there
  6. craft — a skill
  7. content — the amount
  8. lean — to bend
  9. craft — a handicraft
  10. tear — from crying
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. craft — boats
  13. lean — thin
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. tear — to rip
  19. tear — from crying
  20. sharp — clever
  21. club — a group
  22. present — a gift
  23. club — for dancing
  24. present — the time now

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