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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 assure you, everything's ________________.
  3. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. There's no middle ________________.
  9. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  10. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  11. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  20. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  23. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  24. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. fine — all right
  3. march — music
  4. fine — high quality
  5. mine — an explosive
  6. rash — a series
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. ground — a position
  9. fork — in a road
  10. mine — belonging to me
  11. present — there
  12. present — the time now
  13. march — the month
  14. club — for dancing
  15. club — a group
  16. mine — for digging
  17. ground — crushed
  18. rash — hasty
  19. fork — a garden tool
  20. rash — on the skin
  21. march — the month
  22. fork — to eat with
  23. ground — the earth
  24. present — a gift

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