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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. David sat on the ________________.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  7. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  8. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  15. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. land — a country
  3. swing — to play on
  4. chest — a box
  5. chest — of your body
  6. stem — of a plant
  7. wound — past of 'wind'
  8. stem — to come from
  9. club — for dancing
  10. land — ground
  11. swing — in golf
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. board — a committee
  15. board — a flat piece
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. board — to get on
  18. club — a group
  19. swing — music
  20. land — to come down
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. stem — a stem cell
  23. trunk — of a car
  24. chest — of your body

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