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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  3. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  4. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  8. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. season — to add flavour
  3. wax — in the ear
  4. charge — in control
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. fall — the season
  8. fan — a supporter
  9. club — a group
  10. fall — to drop
  11. charge — a price
  12. fall — to drop
  13. game — wild animals
  14. capital — a city
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. fan — to cool the air
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. charge — electricity
  19. season — in sport
  20. wax — to grow
  21. game — a match
  22. capital — money
  23. club — for dancing
  24. season — of the year

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