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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.

Words on the sheet
468
Word bank
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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. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  3. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  4. The water is too ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  8. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  9. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  10. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Have you settled on a ________________?
  13. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Have you found your soul ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. mate — a friend
  4. cold — not warm
  5. land — to come down
  6. mate — to breed
  7. mouse — for a computer
  8. date — on the calendar
  9. land — a country
  10. stick — to attach or keep to
  11. club — a group
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. date — the fruit
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. cold — an illness
  17. club — for dancing
  18. land — ground
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. stick — a piece of wood
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. straw — dry grass
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mate — a partner

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