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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. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  13. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  14. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  15. You don't need to ________________ round.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. roll — a cake
  2. club — for golf
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. drill — army training
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bat — the animal
  8. roll — a list
  9. club — for dancing
  10. drill — the tool
  11. club — a group
  12. foot — part of the body
  13. bear — the animal
  14. capital — a city
  15. pop — to visit
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. pop — music
  18. drill — a practice
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. foot — a measure
  21. pop — soda
  22. capital — money
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. bear — the animal

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