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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  5. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  8. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  14. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  15. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. He is an ace ________________.
  19. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  20. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. wave — of the sea
  3. club — for golf
  4. pitcher — a jug
  5. pound — to hit hard
  6. club — for dancing
  7. object — to protest
  8. row — a quarrel
  9. pound — a weight
  10. object — an aim
  11. file — a line of people
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. file — a tool
  14. object — a thing
  15. row — a line
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. pitcher — in baseball
  19. file — a document
  20. wave — with your hand
  21. capital — money
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. row — to paddle
  24. capital — a city

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