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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. After the show, she was the ________________ of the town.
  4. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  5. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  6. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  7. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  10. I like lots of butter on my ________________ in the morning.
  11. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  12. The water is too ________________.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  15. I would like to propose a ________________ on your birthday.
  16. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  17. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  18. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  19. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  20. I can't ________________ this cold.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. toast — the most admired
  4. stand — for spectators
  5. ground — crushed
  6. craft — a handicraft
  7. current — happening now
  8. club — for dancing
  9. craft — a skill
  10. toast — bread
  11. current — electric
  12. cold — not warm
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. tear — from crying
  15. toast — a drink to someone
  16. cold — an illness
  17. tear — from crying
  18. craft — boats
  19. current — of water
  20. stand — to bear
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. ground — a position
  23. tear — to rip
  24. ground — the earth

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