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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 124 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: sharp · content · file · fork · hand · swing · club · bound

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  7. David sat on the ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  13. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. hand — in cards
  3. bound — certain
  4. swing — in golf
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. fork — in a road
  7. swing — to play on
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. hand — help
  10. bound — obliged
  11. file — a line of people
  12. hand — part of the body
  13. fork — a garden tool
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. content — the amount
  16. sharp — clever
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. file — a document
  19. club — for golf
  20. club — a group
  21. bound — tied together
  22. club — for dancing
  23. swing — music
  24. file — a tool

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