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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. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  14. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  24. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. march — the month
  3. cap — a lid
  4. club — a group
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. rest — a break
  7. pound — a weight
  8. march — the month
  9. clip — for paper
  10. clip — to cut
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. fork — in a road
  14. march — music
  15. cap — of ice
  16. cap — a hat
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. club — for dancing
  20. rest — what's left
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. rest — what's left
  23. clip — a video
  24. bat — the animal

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