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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 father caught me by the ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. When are we going to ________________?
  5. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  9. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  15. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  16. I've got to change the light ________________.
  17. I'll be taking the ________________.
  18. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  19. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  23. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. land — to come down
  5. land — ground
  6. wind — moving air
  7. file — a tool
  8. tube — a container
  9. can — to be able to
  10. club — for dancing
  11. file — a document
  12. land — a country
  13. can — a tin
  14. arm — part of the body
  15. wind — to turn a key
  16. bulb — for light
  17. tube — the underground
  18. arm — a part of something
  19. file — a line of people
  20. wind — moving air
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. can — a tin
  23. bulb — of a plant
  24. bulb — for light

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