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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 belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  3. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  4. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. We're almost out of ________________.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  12. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  13. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  14. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  17. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. You don't need to ________________ round.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. pop — music
  3. sharp — with an edge
  4. tear — from crying
  5. club — for golf
  6. tube — a container
  7. hand — help
  8. hand — in cards
  9. pop — soda
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. tear — from crying
  12. tear — to rip
  13. hand — part of the body
  14. mark — a trace
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. mark — to pay attention
  17. foot — a measure
  18. club — for dancing
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. tube — the underground
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. mark — a grade
  23. sharp — clever
  24. pop — to visit

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