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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  7. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  8. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  9. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  10. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  24. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. face — part of the head
  3. court — of law
  4. dip — to sink
  5. club — for golf
  6. wake — before a funeral
  7. content — happy
  8. deal — an agreement
  9. content — the amount
  10. deal — a big deal
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. deal — to handle
  13. court — for sport
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. dip — a sauce
  16. court — of a king
  17. sharp — clever
  18. face — to confront
  19. wake — a trail
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. club — a group
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. face — to point toward
  24. content — videos and posts

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