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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  4. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  5. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  14. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  15. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  16. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  19. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  22. The water is too ________________.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — for dancing
  3. lash — to lash out
  4. cap — a lid
  5. bore — gave birth
  6. cap — a hat
  7. lash — a whip stroke
  8. club — a group
  9. pass — a permit
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. net — for catching
  13. pass — to spend time
  14. bore — to drill
  15. cold — an illness
  16. net — in sport
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. kick — with a leg
  19. cap — of ice
  20. bore — to tire
  21. lash — an eyelash
  22. cold — not warm
  23. net — after costs
  24. kick — in football

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