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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  3. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  4. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  5. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  14. Where did you ________________ them?
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  17. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. trunk — of an elephant
  3. plane — in geometry
  4. cold — an illness
  5. mug — a face
  6. mug — a cup
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. kid — child
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. club — a group
  13. plane — a tool
  14. mug — to rob
  15. cold — not warm
  16. bowl — a dish
  17. kid — to tease
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. club — for dancing
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. bowl — a football final

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