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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: club · cabinet · date · drill · content · pop · face · wind

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  10. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  11. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  12. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  13. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  22. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  23. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  24. What do you think of the new ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cabinet — a cupboard
  3. date — the fruit
  4. drill — army training
  5. pop — to visit
  6. drill — a practice
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. cabinet — ministers
  10. content — happy
  11. pop — music
  12. wind — moving air
  13. drill — the tool
  14. club — for golf
  15. face — to confront
  16. club — a group
  17. content — videos and posts
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. face — to point toward
  20. pop — soda
  21. face — part of the head
  22. content — the amount
  23. wind — moving air
  24. cabinet — ministers

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