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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  6. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. I've got to change the light ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  15. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  24. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. coach — pulled by horses
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. date — the fruit
  6. wave — a sudden rise
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. wind — moving air
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. bulb — for light
  13. club — for dancing
  14. stick — to attach or keep to
  15. bulb — of a plant
  16. club — for golf
  17. wave — with your hand
  18. chair — a leader
  19. wind — moving air
  20. bulb — for light
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. coach — a trainer
  24. stick — a piece of wood

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