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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. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. Have you found your soul ________________?
  10. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  14. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  15. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  16. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  19. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  20. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  21. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  22. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. firm — decided
  3. club — a group
  4. kid — to tease
  5. present — a gift
  6. club — for dancing
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. kid — child
  9. mate — a partner
  10. firm — a company
  11. spring — of water
  12. spring — a coil
  13. present — there
  14. firm — steady
  15. straw — a straw man
  16. straw — dry grass
  17. spring — the season
  18. row — a quarrel
  19. present — the time now
  20. row — a line
  21. mate — to breed
  22. mate — a friend
  23. row — to paddle
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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