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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. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  2. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. David sat on the ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  12. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  13. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. The tickets are free of ________________.
  16. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  21. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  22. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.

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

Answer key

  1. drill — the tool
  2. kid — to tease
  3. club — for golf
  4. swing — music
  5. swing — to play on
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. swing — in golf
  8. club — a group
  9. leaves — lets stay
  10. cold — not warm
  11. calf — a young animal
  12. calf — a young animal
  13. drill — a practice
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. charge — a price
  16. leaves — of a tree
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. cold — an illness
  19. drill — army training
  20. charge — electricity
  21. kid — child
  22. charge — in control
  23. club — for dancing
  24. cold — the Cold War

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