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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. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  6. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  7. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  8. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  20. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  23. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. content — videos and posts
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. board — a committee
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. board — to get on
  6. prune — the fruit
  7. prune — to trim
  8. content — happy
  9. club — a group
  10. cold — an illness
  11. ground — crushed
  12. ground — the earth
  13. content — the amount
  14. club — for golf
  15. club — for dancing
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. cold — not warm
  18. mine — for digging
  19. pit — a hole
  20. pit — in a race
  21. ground — a position
  22. board — a flat piece
  23. prune — to trim
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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