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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 120 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.

Make a worksheet

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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  6. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  7. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. fine — all right
  3. club — for golf
  4. wind — moving air
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. bowl — a football final
  7. fine — high quality
  8. march — music
  9. fine — a penalty
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. march — the month
  14. club — a group
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. march — the month
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bowl — to roll

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