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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  6. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  13. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. The ________________ took off on time.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  19. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  20. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. swing — to play on
  5. dip — to dunk
  6. dip — a sauce
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. band — a ring
  10. content — the amount
  11. ground — the earth
  12. kid — to tease
  13. band — a music group
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. plane — an aircraft
  17. ground — crushed
  18. kid — child
  19. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  20. dip — to sink
  21. ground — a position
  22. content — happy
  23. swing — music
  24. plane — a tool

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