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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  12. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  18. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  19. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  20. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pop — soda
  3. content — happy
  4. pit — a fruit stone
  5. club — a group
  6. swing — in golf
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. pop — music
  9. pit — a hole
  10. fork — in a road
  11. content — the amount
  12. swing — music
  13. court — of law
  14. club — for golf
  15. swing — to play on
  16. court — for sport
  17. court — of a king
  18. prune — to trim
  19. prune — to trim
  20. prune — the fruit
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. pit — in a race
  24. pop — to visit

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