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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  7. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  11. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  15. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  18. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  19. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  20. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  21. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  24. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. kid — child
  4. row — to paddle
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. fan — to cool the air
  7. bore — to tire
  8. can — a tin
  9. club — for dancing
  10. dip — to dunk
  11. row — a quarrel
  12. ground — the earth
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. dip — to sink
  15. ground — crushed
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. can — to be able to
  18. bore — gave birth
  19. kid — to tease
  20. bore — to drill
  21. can — a tin
  22. ground — a position
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. row — a line

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