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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. False peace will not ________________.
  3. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  4. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  15. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  16. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  17. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. The King held a masked ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. He keeps ________________ of his days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. last — to go on
  3. ball — a great time
  4. can — a tin
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. chair — a professorship
  7. bat — the animal
  8. chair — a leader
  9. club — a group
  10. wind — moving air
  11. last — final
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — to be able to
  16. last — finally
  17. chair — to sit on
  18. track — a song
  19. ball — a dance
  20. club — for dancing
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. wind — moving air
  23. track — a path
  24. track — to keep track

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