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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 116 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 want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  3. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  4. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  5. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  6. I'll be taking the ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  11. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. 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. club — for golf
  2. tube — a container
  3. rock — music
  4. court — of a king
  5. rock — a stone
  6. tube — the underground
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. mug — a face
  9. court — for sport
  10. mug — a cup
  11. straw — to clutch at straws
  12. club — for dancing
  13. court — of law
  14. club — a group
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. mug — to rob
  18. 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