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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  4. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  7. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  10. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  16. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  17. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  18. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  19. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  23. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  24. Let us try to swim against the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. mine — for digging
  4. fine — high quality
  5. row — a line
  6. suit — clothes
  7. hand — part of the body
  8. fine — all right
  9. current — electric
  10. row — a quarrel
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. branch — a division
  13. suit — to fit
  14. club — for golf
  15. hand — help
  16. row — to paddle
  17. suit — in cards
  18. fine — a penalty
  19. current — happening now
  20. hand — in cards
  21. club — a group
  22. branch — of a bank
  23. mine — an explosive
  24. current — of water

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