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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. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  4. It's one o'clock ________________.
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  9. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  19. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. date — the fruit
  2. club — for dancing
  3. sharp — clever
  4. sharp — exactly
  5. rash — a series
  6. craft — boats
  7. content — happy
  8. craft — a skill
  9. rash — on the skin
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. rash — hasty
  12. club — a group
  13. wind — moving air
  14. club — for golf
  15. craft — a handicraft
  16. swing — music
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. swing — in golf
  20. content — the amount
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. swing — to play on
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. wind — moving air

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