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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 120 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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468
Word bank
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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  5. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  8. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  9. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. club — for golf
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. fan — a supporter
  5. kid — to tease
  6. ground — the earth
  7. perch — for a bird
  8. wave — with your hand
  9. perch — for a bird
  10. snap — to click
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. content — happy
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. kid — child
  15. wave — of the sea
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. club — a group
  19. content — the amount
  20. ground — crushed
  21. snap — to speak sharply
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. club — for dancing
  24. perch — the fish

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