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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  14. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  18. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  19. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  22. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. content — happy
  4. band — a music group
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. bulb — of a plant
  7. capital — money
  8. club — for golf
  9. bulb — for light
  10. chair — a leader
  11. chair — to sit on
  12. bulb — for light
  13. content — the amount
  14. season — of the year
  15. season — in sport
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. dip — a sauce
  18. capital — a big letter
  19. band — a ring
  20. capital — a city
  21. dip — to sink
  22. dip — to dunk
  23. club — a group
  24. band — a rubber band

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