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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. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. That must've been a ________________.
  7. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  13. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He is an ace ________________.
  17. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  21. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  24. The ________________ took off on time.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. plane — a tool
  3. file — a tool
  4. rush — hurry
  5. club — for golf
  6. rush — a thrill
  7. pop — music
  8. club — a group
  9. track — a path
  10. pop — soda
  11. track — to keep track
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. plane — in geometry
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pitcher — in baseball
  17. file — a document
  18. capital — money
  19. pop — to visit
  20. capital — a city
  21. file — a line of people
  22. track — a song
  23. rush — to hurry
  24. plane — an aircraft

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