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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  6. The water is too ________________.
  7. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  12. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  13. My father caught me by the ________________.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  18. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  19. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  23. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — for dancing
  3. key — the most important part
  4. game — wild animals
  5. wax — for sculpting
  6. cold — not warm
  7. wax — to grow
  8. kid — child
  9. cold — an illness
  10. game — a match
  11. kid — to tease
  12. pit — a hole
  13. arm — part of the body
  14. key — in music
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. wax — in the ear
  18. pit — in a race
  19. game — a kind of play
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. club — a group
  22. arm — a part of something
  23. key — for a lock
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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