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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. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  3. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  7. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  8. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  12. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. False peace will not ________________.
  16. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  17. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  18. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  22. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. season — of the year
  3. degree — an amount
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. game — wild animals
  6. bowl — to roll
  7. degree — temperature
  8. net — after costs
  9. net — for catching
  10. last — finally
  11. season — in sport
  12. bowl — a football final
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. club — a group
  15. last — to go on
  16. game — a kind of play
  17. last — final
  18. rule — a law
  19. net — in sport
  20. club — for dancing
  21. degree — from a university
  22. rule — to rule out
  23. rule — government
  24. game — a match

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