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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The water is too ________________.
  3. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  6. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  11. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  12. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  17. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  18. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  19. We're almost out of ________________.
  20. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cold — not warm
  3. fork — in a road
  4. ground — a position
  5. ground — the earth
  6. squash — the vegetable
  7. ground — crushed
  8. fork — a garden tool
  9. club — for golf
  10. squash — to crush
  11. mark — a trace
  12. pop — music
  13. club — a group
  14. fan — a supporter
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. mark — a grade
  17. fork — to eat with
  18. squash — the sport
  19. pop — soda
  20. mark — to pay attention
  21. pop — to visit
  22. cold — an illness
  23. fan — to cool the air
  24. fan — a supporter

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