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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. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  15. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  16. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  17. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  18. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  23. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. pop — music
  2. content — happy
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. pop — soda
  5. club — for golf
  6. club — a group
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. court — for sport
  10. hand — part of the body
  11. court — of a king
  12. pop — to visit
  13. band — a ring
  14. craft — a skill
  15. pitcher — a jug
  16. craft — boats
  17. content — the amount
  18. content — videos and posts
  19. hand — in cards
  20. court — of law
  21. club — for dancing
  22. band — a music group
  23. band — a rubber band
  24. hand — help

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