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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  5. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  6. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  13. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  14. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  15. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  24. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. ground — crushed
  3. kid — to tease
  4. content — the amount
  5. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  6. hide — animal skin
  7. club — for dancing
  8. club — a group
  9. hide — to keep secret
  10. club — for golf
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. rock — music
  13. chest — of your body
  14. content — happy
  15. ground — the earth
  16. kid — child
  17. chest — of your body
  18. capital — money
  19. rock — a stone
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. content — videos and posts
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. capital — a city
  24. chest — a box

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