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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  4. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  16. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. bass — low music
  4. content — videos and posts
  5. content — happy
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. club — for golf
  8. swing — to play on
  9. perch — the fish
  10. club — a group
  11. court — of a king
  12. pound — a weight
  13. rash — a series
  14. court — of law
  15. bass — the fish
  16. bass — the instrument
  17. swing — in golf
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. court — for sport
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. perch — for a bird
  22. content — the amount
  23. rash — hasty
  24. swing — music

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