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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. There's no middle ________________.
  2. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  17. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  18. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Where did you ________________ them?

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

Answer key

  1. ground — a position
  2. toast — the most admired
  3. club — for golf
  4. hand — help
  5. ground — crushed
  6. club — a group
  7. bark — a dog's sound
  8. hand — in cards
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. toast — bread
  11. bark — to shout
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. date — on the calendar
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. mug — a face
  17. toast — a drink to someone
  18. mug — a cup
  19. shower — rain
  20. ground — the earth
  21. shower — to wash
  22. date — the fruit
  23. club — for dancing
  24. mug — to rob

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