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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 116 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. He is an ace ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  5. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. Did you ________________ the meat?
  8. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  16. False peace will not ________________.
  17. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  20. He was locked up in a ________________.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. pitcher — in baseball
  3. club — for golf
  4. pound — for dogs
  5. last — final
  6. club — a group
  7. season — to add flavour
  8. race — humankind
  9. club — for dancing
  10. pound — a weight
  11. fine — high quality
  12. pound — to hit hard
  13. last — finally
  14. cell — a phone
  15. race — the arms race
  16. last — to go on
  17. season — of the year
  18. fine — all right
  19. season — in sport
  20. cell — in a prison
  21. cell — in biology
  22. pitcher — a jug
  23. race — a contest
  24. fine — a penalty

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