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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. Have you settled on a ________________?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  4. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  5. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  6. That was a fun ________________.
  7. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  8. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  15. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  19. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. date — on the calendar
  2. club — for dancing
  3. racket — for tennis
  4. rest — a break
  5. game — a kind of play
  6. game — a match
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. net — in sport
  9. date — the fruit
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. club — a group
  12. game — wild animals
  13. rest — what's left
  14. racket — a loud noise
  15. chip — to eat
  16. net — for catching
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. chip — in a computer
  19. date — on the calendar
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. chip — for betting
  22. club — for golf
  23. rest — what's left
  24. net — after costs

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