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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. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  2. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  6. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  7. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  8. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  11. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  15. That was a fun ________________.
  16. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. Don't do anything ________________.
  24. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — size or range
  2. fine — all right
  3. row — a line
  4. club — for golf
  5. scale — in music
  6. track — a song
  7. rule — government
  8. rash — on the skin
  9. track — a path
  10. rule — a law
  11. row — to paddle
  12. fine — high quality
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. row — a quarrel
  15. game — a match
  16. fine — a penalty
  17. rash — a series
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. club — for dancing
  20. track — to keep track
  21. club — a group
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. rash — hasty
  24. game — wild animals

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