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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. That was a fun ________________.
  3. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  4. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  11. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  12. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  13. When are we going to ________________?
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. game — a match
  3. ball — a round shape
  4. game — a kind of play
  5. swing — in golf
  6. club — for dancing
  7. trunk — of an elephant
  8. swing — to play on
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. game — wild animals
  11. land — ground
  12. mine — for digging
  13. land — to come down
  14. land — a country
  15. fine — all right
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. fine — a penalty
  18. ball — a dance
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. ball — a great time
  21. fine — high quality
  22. club — a group
  23. swing — music
  24. mine — an explosive

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