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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. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  12. You don't need to ________________ round.
  13. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  14. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. The ________________ went through the wall.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. rule — a law
  3. club — for dancing
  4. shower — to wash
  5. club — a group
  6. bank — for money
  7. pop — music
  8. race — humankind
  9. rule — to rule out
  10. squash — the sport
  11. bank — for money
  12. pop — to visit
  13. race — a contest
  14. bank — of a river
  15. shower — rain
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. shower — a meteor shower
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. nail — for a hammer
  20. pop — soda
  21. rule — government
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. race — the arms race
  24. squash — to crush

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