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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  6. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  7. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  8. What do you think of the new ________________?
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  19. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  22. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. content — videos and posts
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. cell — a phone
  6. row — to paddle
  7. track — to keep track
  8. cabinet — ministers
  9. track — a song
  10. kick — in football
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. wind — moving air
  13. row — a line
  14. content — happy
  15. club — for dancing
  16. cabinet — ministers
  17. track — a path
  18. wind — moving air
  19. cell — in biology
  20. content — the amount
  21. kick — a thrill
  22. cabinet — a cupboard
  23. club — a group
  24. row — a quarrel

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