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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. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  10. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  11. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The ball is in your ________________.
  15. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  16. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  17. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  21. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — an injury
  2. club — for golf
  3. bore — to drill
  4. club — a group
  5. bore — to tire
  6. last — final
  7. club — for dancing
  8. fine — high quality
  9. rock — music
  10. rock — to move gently
  11. last — finally
  12. foot — a measure
  13. court — of a king
  14. court — for sport
  15. rock — a stone
  16. wound — an injury
  17. bore — gave birth
  18. fine — all right
  19. last — to go on
  20. foot — part of the body
  21. fine — a penalty
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. court — of law
  24. foot — the bottom

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