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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. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. What do you think of the new ________________?
  6. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  7. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  11. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  12. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  13. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  18. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. last — final
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. wound — an injury
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. cabinet — ministers
  6. cabinet — ministers
  7. scale — in music
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cabinet — a cupboard
  11. bear — the animal
  12. last — finally
  13. content — happy
  14. wound — an injury
  15. scale — size or range
  16. club — a group
  17. bear — to put up with
  18. hand — help
  19. hand — in cards
  20. club — for golf
  21. last — to go on
  22. content — the amount
  23. bear — the animal
  24. hand — part of the body

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