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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  9. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  15. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  16. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. He is an ace ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. plane — a tool
  3. content — happy
  4. kid — to tease
  5. kid — child
  6. field — farmland
  7. rest — a break
  8. safe — a strongbox
  9. safe — out of danger
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. content — the amount
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. club — a group
  14. plane — in geometry
  15. field — for sport
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. safe — out of danger
  19. field — a subject
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. pitcher — in baseball
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — what's left
  24. club — for dancing

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