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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  5. That must've been a ________________.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  14. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  17. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. club — for dancing
  4. race — the arms race
  5. rush — a thrill
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. club — a group
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. deal — to handle
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. rush — hurry
  14. scale — in music
  15. bear — the animal
  16. bore — to tire
  17. bore — to drill
  18. cold — an illness
  19. bear — the animal
  20. race — a contest
  21. cold — not warm
  22. scale — size or range
  23. race — humankind
  24. deal — a big deal

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