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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 116 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 band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  3. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  4. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  10. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  13. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  14. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. Have you found your soul ________________?
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  19. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. march — music
  3. wind — to turn a key
  4. ground — crushed
  5. club — for golf
  6. wind — moving air
  7. ground — the earth
  8. file — a document
  9. lean — to bend
  10. lean — thin
  11. club — for dancing
  12. mate — to breed
  13. current — happening now
  14. mate — a friend
  15. file — a tool
  16. mate — a partner
  17. ground — a position
  18. current — electric
  19. lean — to rest against
  20. current — of water
  21. wind — moving air
  22. file — a line of people
  23. march — the month
  24. march — the month

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