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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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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: kid · club · row · sharp · bay · tube · content · prune

  1. My mare is ________________ in color.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  6. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  7. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  8. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  17. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  24. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.

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

Answer key

  1. bay — a horse colour
  2. tube — the underground
  3. bay — a part of the sea
  4. club — for dancing
  5. content — videos and posts
  6. prune — to trim
  7. row — a line
  8. row — to paddle
  9. club — a group
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. sharp — clever
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. kid — child
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. tube — a container
  16. content — the amount
  17. bay — to keep at bay
  18. club — for golf
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. prune — to trim
  21. kid — to tease
  22. prune — the fruit
  23. content — happy
  24. tube — in a tire

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