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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 120 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 rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. False peace will not ________________.
  4. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  20. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  21. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  22. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. I play ________________ in a jazz band.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. row — to paddle
  3. last — to go on
  4. lean — thin
  5. content — happy
  6. club — a group
  7. bass — the fish
  8. field — for sport
  9. row — a line
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. field — farmland
  12. band — a ring
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. bass — low music
  15. field — a subject
  16. content — the amount
  17. lean — to rest against
  18. band — a music group
  19. last — finally
  20. content — videos and posts
  21. last — final
  22. lean — to bend
  23. club — for dancing
  24. bass — the instrument

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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