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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 120 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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  5. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  6. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  7. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  8. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  11. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  12. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  13. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  20. The ________________ went through the wall.
  21. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  22. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. wind — moving air
  4. bat — for baseball
  5. nail — for a hammer
  6. race — a contest
  7. bat — in an idiom
  8. wind — to turn a key
  9. race — humankind
  10. band — a rubber band
  11. nail — on a finger
  12. band — a ring
  13. racket — for tennis
  14. club — for dancing
  15. perch — for a bird
  16. band — a music group
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. wind — moving air
  19. perch — for a bird
  20. nail — for a hammer
  21. perch — the fish
  22. racket — a loud noise
  23. bat — the animal
  24. race — the arms race

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