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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  7. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  15. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  16. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  17. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  18. The water is too ________________.
  19. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. ball — a dance
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. spell — letters
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. rock — to move gently
  7. cold — an illness
  8. fork — in a road
  9. club — a group
  10. rock — music
  11. spell — a short time
  12. cap — a hat
  13. content — happy
  14. fork — to eat with
  15. cap — a lid
  16. rock — a stone
  17. ball — a great time
  18. cold — not warm
  19. spell — magic
  20. content — the amount
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cap — of ice
  23. club — for golf
  24. fork — a garden tool

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