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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. David sat on the ________________.
  3. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  4. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  5. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  8. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  9. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  13. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  14. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  15. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  18. False peace will not ________________.
  19. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. swing — to play on
  3. last — final
  4. field — a subject
  5. bore — to drill
  6. board — to get on
  7. board — a committee
  8. bound — obliged
  9. board — a flat piece
  10. bound — tied together
  11. club — for dancing
  12. bore — gave birth
  13. field — for sport
  14. current — happening now
  15. field — farmland
  16. swing — in golf
  17. last — finally
  18. last — to go on
  19. current — electric
  20. club — for golf
  21. swing — music
  22. current — of water
  23. bore — to tire
  24. bound — certain

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