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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 116 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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. False peace will not ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I've got to change the light ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  10. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  19. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. The light ________________ burned out.
  24. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. last — to go on
  3. club — for dancing
  4. bulb — for light
  5. club — a group
  6. last — finally
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. wind — moving air
  9. hand — help
  10. cue — a hint
  11. last — final
  12. cue — for pool
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. wind — moving air
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. club — for golf
  17. branch — a division
  18. branch — of a tree
  19. mine — an explosive
  20. hand — in cards
  21. cue — a signal
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. bulb — for light
  24. mine — belonging to me

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