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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. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  2. He was locked up in a ________________.
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  5. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  6. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  9. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  13. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  14. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  20. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  21. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  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. deal — an agreement
  2. cell — in a prison
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. prune — to trim
  5. band — a rubber band
  6. sharp — clever
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. cell — a phone
  9. prune — to trim
  10. band — a music group
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. cell — in biology
  13. deal — to handle
  14. deal — a big deal
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for dancing
  17. club — for golf
  18. content — the amount
  19. hide — to keep secret
  20. content — happy
  21. band — a ring
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. hide — to keep secret
  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