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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. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  6. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  11. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  17. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  21. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. I had a ________________ with my boss today.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. pass — to succeed
  3. pass — a permit
  4. wound — an injury
  5. stem — a stem cell
  6. straw — a straw man
  7. club — a group
  8. present — there
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. wound — an injury
  11. row — a line
  12. stem — to come from
  13. club — for dancing
  14. ground — the earth
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — a gift
  17. pass — to spend time
  18. ground — crushed
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. wound — past of 'wind'
  21. straw — to clutch at straws
  22. ground — a position
  23. row — to paddle
  24. row — a quarrel

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