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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Have you settled on a ________________?
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  16. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  17. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  18. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  19. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  20. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  21. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  22. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  23. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  24. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. spring — the season
  3. staff — a stick
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. club — a group
  6. foot — a measure
  7. spring — of water
  8. content — the amount
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. content — happy
  11. date — on the calendar
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. club — for golf
  14. march — the month
  15. staff — employees
  16. rest — what's left
  17. rest — what's left
  18. foot — the bottom
  19. spring — a coil
  20. march — music
  21. staff — employees
  22. rest — a break
  23. date — the fruit
  24. march — the month

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