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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 124 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. That was a fun ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  4. When will it ________________ you to start?
  5. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  11. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  15. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  16. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  19. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. David sat on the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. club — a group
  3. pitcher — a jug
  4. suit — to fit
  5. tube — in a tire
  6. club — for dancing
  7. rest — a break
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. chest — of your body
  10. swing — in golf
  11. suit — in cards
  12. chest — a box
  13. rest — what's left
  14. game — a kind of play
  15. swing — music
  16. game — wild animals
  17. tube — a container
  18. suit — clothes
  19. pitcher — a jug
  20. chest — of your body
  21. tube — the underground
  22. club — for golf
  23. rest — what's left
  24. swing — to play on

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