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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. The King held a masked ________________.
  3. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  7. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. The water is too ________________.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  24. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. ball — a dance
  3. kid — to tease
  4. club — for dancing
  5. game — a match
  6. pit — a hole
  7. rush — hurry
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. rush — to hurry
  10. club — for golf
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. kid — child
  14. ball — a great time
  15. game — wild animals
  16. cold — an illness
  17. cold — not warm
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. pit — a fruit stone
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. cold — the Cold War
  24. pit — in a race

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