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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  3. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  9. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. Don't do anything ________________.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  17. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  24. This looks like a gunshot ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. hide — to keep secret
  3. hide — animal skin
  4. net — after costs
  5. club — for dancing
  6. foot — part of the body
  7. rush — hurry
  8. content — videos and posts
  9. wound — an injury
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. content — happy
  12. club — for golf
  13. net — for catching
  14. rash — hasty
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. foot — a measure
  17. foot — the bottom
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. net — in sport
  20. content — the amount
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. rash — a series
  24. wound — an injury

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