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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: club · content · chip · rock · date · sharp · last · fall

  1. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  7. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  13. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. False peace will not ________________.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. We were using a ________________ as a seat.

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

Answer key

  1. content — happy
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. fall — to drop
  4. last — final
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. sharp — with an edge
  7. chip — to eat
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. fall — to drop
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. last — finally
  12. content — the amount
  13. fall — the season
  14. club — a group
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. sharp — clever
  18. date — the fruit
  19. club — for dancing
  20. last — to go on
  21. chip — for betting
  22. rock — music
  23. club — for golf
  24. rock — a stone

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