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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  4. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  10. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  13. He was locked up in a ________________.
  14. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  15. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  21. When was this ________________ built?
  22. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  23. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — for dancing
  3. temple — a place of worship
  4. craft — boats
  5. swing — to play on
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. wound — an injury
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. cell — in biology
  10. temple — side of the head
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. march — the month
  13. cell — in a prison
  14. march — the month
  15. swing — in golf
  16. swing — music
  17. kid — to tease
  18. club — a group
  19. wound — an injury
  20. cell — a phone
  21. temple — a place of worship
  22. kid — child
  23. craft — a skill
  24. march — music

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