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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. False peace will not ________________.
  10. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  11. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  12. That was a fun ________________.
  13. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — a group
  3. bass — the fish
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. game — wild animals
  6. snap — to click
  7. last — final
  8. last — finally
  9. last — to go on
  10. bass — the instrument
  11. snap — to speak sharply
  12. game — a match
  13. snap — to snap out of it
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — dry grass
  16. bass — low music
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. club — for golf

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