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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. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. My father caught me by the ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  23. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mark — to pay attention
  2. last — finally
  3. content — happy
  4. club — for dancing
  5. band — a music group
  6. club — a group
  7. mark — a grade
  8. capital — a city
  9. arm — part of the body
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. mark — a trace
  13. band — a ring
  14. capital — money
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. last — to go on
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. content — the amount
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. arm — part of the body
  23. last — final
  24. club — for golf

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