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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. This piece is in a major ________________.
  7. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  8. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. He was locked up in a ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. deal — an agreement
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. club — for golf
  4. cell — a phone
  5. content — happy
  6. key — in music
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. mouse — the animal
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — in biology
  11. content — videos and posts
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. content — the amount
  14. deal — to handle
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. cold — not warm
  17. key — the most important part
  18. cold — an illness
  19. key — for a lock
  20. wind — moving air
  21. club — for dancing
  22. cell — in a prison
  23. club — a group
  24. deal — a big deal

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