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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  6. Have you settled on a ________________?
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  18. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  23. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  24. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. cap — a hat
  3. rock — to move gently
  4. rock — a stone
  5. squash — the sport
  6. date — on the calendar
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. club — for dancing
  10. cap — a lid
  11. net — for catching
  12. net — in sport
  13. club — a group
  14. net — after costs
  15. cap — of ice
  16. land — a country
  17. date — on the calendar
  18. date — the fruit
  19. squash — to crush
  20. current — electric
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. current — happening now
  23. current — of water
  24. rock — music

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