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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'd like to play a game of ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  7. He was locked up in a ________________.
  8. You don't need to ________________ round.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  11. I've got to change the light ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. We're almost out of ________________.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  19. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  20. The light ________________ burned out.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. squash — the sport
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. club — for golf
  4. rest — what's left
  5. club — a group
  6. pop — music
  7. cell — in a prison
  8. pop — to visit
  9. squash — to crush
  10. squash — the vegetable
  11. bulb — for light
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. capital — a city
  14. cell — a phone
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. pop — soda
  17. sharp — clever
  18. bulb — of a plant
  19. rest — a break
  20. bulb — for light
  21. cell — in biology
  22. capital — money
  23. club — for dancing
  24. rest — what's left

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