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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. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  5. He works in a ________________ mill.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  15. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  16. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  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. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. wind — moving air
  5. saw — the tool
  6. saw — the tool
  7. club — a group
  8. press — to push
  9. wind — moving air
  10. club — for dancing
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. bowl — a dish
  15. kid — to tease
  16. wake — a trail
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. press — newspapers
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. kid — child
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. press — a publisher
  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