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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  3. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  6. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  7. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  16. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  17. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  18. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  21. The water is too ________________.
  22. False peace will not ________________.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. hand — help
  3. last — finally
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. bear — to put up with
  6. track — a path
  7. rest — what's left
  8. hand — in cards
  9. bear — the animal
  10. club — a group
  11. track — to keep track
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. rest — a break
  14. bear — the animal
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. last — final
  17. rest — what's left
  18. hide — to keep secret
  19. club — for dancing
  20. track — a song
  21. cold — not warm
  22. last — to go on
  23. cold — an illness
  24. hide — animal skin

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