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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  6. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  7. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  8. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  9. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  10. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  11. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  14. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  15. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  16. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  19. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  22. How do you ________________ your surname?
  23. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — for dancing
  3. fan — to cool the air
  4. capital — money
  5. spell — a short time
  6. firm — decided
  7. fan — a supporter
  8. firm — a company
  9. face — part of the head
  10. capital — a big letter
  11. clip — to cut
  12. face — to point toward
  13. lash — an eyelash
  14. clip — for paper
  15. lash — a whip stroke
  16. clip — a video
  17. spell — magic
  18. lash — to lash out
  19. face — to confront
  20. club — a group
  21. capital — a city
  22. spell — letters
  23. firm — steady
  24. fan — a supporter

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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