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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 120 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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  4. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  13. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  16. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  19. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. False peace will not ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. last — finally
  3. wound — an injury
  4. last — final
  5. club — for dancing
  6. file — a document
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. calf — a young animal
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. wind — moving air
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. calf — of the leg
  14. file — a line of people
  15. rock — to move gently
  16. wind — moving air
  17. club — for golf
  18. sharp — clever
  19. rock — a stone
  20. file — a tool
  21. wound — an injury
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. last — to go on
  24. rock — music

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