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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. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  3. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  12. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  13. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  14. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  15. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  16. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  20. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. leaves — of a tree
  3. leaves — to go away
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. content — videos and posts
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — for golf
  9. bear — the animal
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. bat — the animal
  12. content — happy
  13. mine — an explosive
  14. bear — the animal
  15. bass — low music
  16. bat — for baseball
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. mine — for digging
  19. leaves — lets stay
  20. bear — to put up with
  21. club — a group
  22. bass — the instrument
  23. content — the amount
  24. bass — the fish

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