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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. When will it ________________ you to start?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  8. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  9. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  10. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  11. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  18. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  19. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  20. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — to fit
  2. club — for dancing
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. net — in sport
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. wound — an injury
  7. vault — a safe
  8. squash — to crush
  9. squash — the vegetable
  10. squash — the sport
  11. suit — clothes
  12. fork — in a road
  13. club — a group
  14. wound — an injury
  15. net — after costs
  16. net — for catching
  17. vault — an arched ceiling
  18. suit — in cards
  19. straw — a straw man
  20. straw — dry grass
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. club — for golf
  24. vault — in gymnastics

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