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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 116 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. David sat on the ________________.
  2. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  3. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  9. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  10. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. It's one o'clock ________________.
  15. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  16. That must've been a ________________.
  17. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — to play on
  2. content — happy
  3. content — the amount
  4. wound — an injury
  5. pop — soda
  6. pop — music
  7. rash — hasty
  8. rash — a series
  9. wound — past of 'wind'
  10. present — a gift
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. swing — music
  14. sharp — exactly
  15. content — videos and posts
  16. rush — a thrill
  17. present — there
  18. wound — an injury
  19. rush — hurry
  20. swing — in golf
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. present — the time now
  24. pop — to visit

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