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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 in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  7. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  8. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  9. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  13. The ________________ took off on time.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  16. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. pound — for dogs
  4. tear — from crying
  5. plane — a tool
  6. pound — a weight
  7. pass — to spend time
  8. plane — in geometry
  9. pound — to hit hard
  10. club — for dancing
  11. field — for sport
  12. field — farmland
  13. plane — an aircraft
  14. field — a subject
  15. pass — a permit
  16. tear — to rip
  17. tear — from crying
  18. pass — to succeed

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