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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. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  3. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  4. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  5. How do you ________________ your surname?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  14. This piece is in a major ________________.
  15. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  16. There's no middle ________________.
  17. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  18. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. snap — to speak sharply
  3. current — happening now
  4. current — electric
  5. spell — letters
  6. field — for sport
  7. wind — moving air
  8. spell — magic
  9. wind — moving air
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. ground — the earth
  13. key — the most important part
  14. key — in music
  15. key — for a lock
  16. ground — a position
  17. snap — to click
  18. spell — a short time
  19. club — for dancing
  20. current — of water
  21. field — a subject
  22. ground — crushed
  23. field — farmland
  24. club — for golf

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