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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 put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  3. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  4. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  10. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  14. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  15. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. band — a rubber band
  3. march — the month
  4. tear — to rip
  5. swing — in golf
  6. club — a group
  7. band — a ring
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. pit — a fruit stone
  10. band — a music group
  11. shower — to wash
  12. club — for dancing
  13. shower — a meteor shower
  14. pit — in a race
  15. march — music
  16. tear — from crying
  17. march — the month
  18. pit — a hole
  19. swing — to play on
  20. swing — music
  21. wake — before a funeral
  22. wake — a trail
  23. tear — from crying
  24. shower — rain

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