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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · fork · present · ground · nail · pop · club · content

  1. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  4. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  5. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  6. We're almost out of ________________.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  20. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  24. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. present — a gift
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. content — videos and posts
  4. fork — a garden tool
  5. content — happy
  6. pop — soda
  7. ground — a position
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. club — for golf
  10. fork — in a road
  11. bat — in an idiom
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. pop — to visit
  14. club — for dancing
  15. pop — music
  16. club — a group
  17. present — the time now
  18. ground — crushed
  19. ground — the earth
  20. fork — to eat with
  21. bat — the animal
  22. present — there
  23. content — the amount
  24. nail — on a finger

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