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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 116 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. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  3. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  4. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  5. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  6. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  13. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  14. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. False peace will not ________________.
  20. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  21. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  22. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Biology is a ________________ of science.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. band — a ring
  3. cue — for pool
  4. mouse — for a computer
  5. cue — a signal
  6. mine — for digging
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. club — for dancing
  9. wake — before a funeral
  10. last — finally
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. last — final
  13. cue — a hint
  14. branch — of a bank
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. band — a music group
  17. wake — to stop sleeping
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. last — to go on
  20. mouse — the animal
  21. wake — a trail
  22. mouse — the animal
  23. club — a group
  24. branch — a division

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