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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  11. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  19. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. stand — on your feet
  4. content — happy
  5. last — final
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. can — to be able to
  8. capital — a city
  9. club — a group
  10. safe — a strongbox
  11. can — a tin
  12. last — finally
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. drill — the tool
  15. last — to go on
  16. stand — for spectators
  17. drill — a practice
  18. can — a tin
  19. capital — money
  20. stand — to bear
  21. safe — out of danger
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. content — the amount
  24. drill — army training

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