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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  4. I'll be taking the ________________.
  5. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  6. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  7. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  18. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — for dancing
  3. patient — calm and waiting
  4. tube — the underground
  5. plane — a tool
  6. tube — in a tire
  7. plane — in geometry
  8. file — a tool
  9. tube — a container
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. file — a document
  12. patient — a sick person
  13. club — a group
  14. net — after costs
  15. file — a line of people
  16. net — for catching
  17. net — in sport
  18. patient — a sick person

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