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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. That was a fun ________________.
  3. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  4. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  8. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  9. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  10. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. game — a match
  3. file — a tool
  4. file — a document
  5. club — a group
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. march — music
  8. prune — to trim
  9. game — a kind of play
  10. racket — a loud noise
  11. squash — the sport
  12. prune — to trim
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. march — the month
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. file — a line of people
  19. club — for dancing
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. game — wild animals
  23. march — the month
  24. squash — to crush

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