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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 116 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. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  3. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  9. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  20. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  21. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  22. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  23. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  24. That was ________________ to happen.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bound — tied together
  3. squash — the sport
  4. mine — for digging
  5. squash — to crush
  6. field — for sport
  7. shower — rain
  8. rock — music
  9. rock — a stone
  10. club — a group
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bound — obliged
  13. squash — the vegetable
  14. club — for dancing
  15. race — humankind
  16. race — the arms race
  17. field — farmland
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. mine — belonging to me
  20. rock — to move gently
  21. field — a subject
  22. shower — a meteor shower
  23. race — a contest
  24. bound — certain

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