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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. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. content — the amount
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. content — happy
  5. track — a path
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. track — a song
  9. root — the cause
  10. last — finally
  11. kick — in football
  12. root — of a word
  13. game — wild animals
  14. last — to go on
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. club — for golf
  17. root — of a plant
  18. game — a match
  19. fan — to cool the air
  20. track — to keep track
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. content — videos and posts
  24. last — final

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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