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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. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  12. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. Did you ________________ the button?
  15. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  19. That was a fun ________________.
  20. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  21. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  22. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. hand — help
  3. game — wild animals
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. mine — for digging
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. club — for golf
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. press — a publisher
  12. leaves — to go away
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. press — to push
  15. mine — an explosive
  16. club — for dancing
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. hand — in cards
  19. game — a match
  20. bat — the animal
  21. leaves — lets stay
  22. leaves — of a tree
  23. press — newspapers
  24. lie — to recline

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