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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  10. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  11. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  12. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  13. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  21. Have you settled on a ________________?
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  24. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. bark — a dog's sound
  3. date — the fruit
  4. club — for golf
  5. chest — of your body
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. march — the month
  10. march — music
  11. bark — of a tree
  12. jam — to spread on bread
  13. bark — to shout
  14. land — to come down
  15. vault — in gymnastics
  16. march — the month
  17. club — for dancing
  18. vault — a safe
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. chest — of your body
  21. date — on the calendar
  22. chest — a box
  23. jam — a tight spot
  24. jam — in traffic

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