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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. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  7. Have you met the new head ________________?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  13. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  18. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  19. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  20. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  24. We have nothing to ________________ here.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. chest — of your body
  3. club — a group
  4. root — the cause
  5. club — for dancing
  6. hide — to keep secret
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. saw — the tool
  10. root — of a plant
  11. file — a document
  12. coach — a trainer
  13. pound — for dogs
  14. chest — of your body
  15. root — of a word
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. file — a line of people
  18. hide — animal skin
  19. file — a tool
  20. chest — a box
  21. saw — the tool
  22. pound — a weight
  23. pound — to hit hard
  24. hide — to keep secret

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