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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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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. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. The King held a masked ________________.
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  17. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lean — thin
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. swing — to play on
  4. content — happy
  5. game — a match
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. track — a path
  8. ball — a great time
  9. fork — in a road
  10. ball — a dance
  11. game — wild animals
  12. craft — a handicraft
  13. craft — a skill
  14. craft — boats
  15. swing — in golf
  16. lean — to bend
  17. ball — a round shape
  18. track — to keep track
  19. swing — music
  20. lean — to rest against
  21. track — a song
  22. fork — a garden tool
  23. content — the amount
  24. content — videos and posts

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