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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  4. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The ________________ went through the wall.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  16. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  23. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. mate — a partner
  3. fan — a supporter
  4. clip — for paper
  5. shower — rain
  6. mate — to breed
  7. band — a music group
  8. band — a ring
  9. mate — a friend
  10. nail — for a hammer
  11. ground — the earth
  12. nail — for a hammer
  13. ground — a position
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. nail — on a finger
  16. shower — to wash
  17. club — for dancing
  18. ground — crushed
  19. clip — a video
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. clip — to cut
  24. club — for golf

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