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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 116 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 strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. David sat on the ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  20. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  21. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wind — moving air
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. club — a group
  4. club — for dancing
  5. content — the amount
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. swing — music
  8. fork — in a road
  9. wind — moving air
  10. swing — to play on
  11. club — for golf
  12. swing — in golf
  13. tear — from crying
  14. last — final
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. tear — to rip
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. tear — from crying
  20. last — finally
  21. content — happy
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. dip — to sink
  24. last — to go on

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