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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  9. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  10. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  15. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. Have you settled on a ________________?
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  20. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  21. Did you ________________ the button?
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. mate — to breed
  4. content — the amount
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. content — happy
  7. race — a contest
  8. bass — the fish
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. root — the cause
  11. club — a group
  12. race — humankind
  13. date — the fruit
  14. root — of a plant
  15. press — a publisher
  16. mate — a partner
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. root — of a word
  19. content — videos and posts
  20. bass — low music
  21. press — to push
  22. mate — a friend
  23. race — the arms race
  24. press — newspapers

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