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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  4. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  5. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  9. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. That was ________________ to happen.
  13. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  19. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  23. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  24. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.

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

Answer key

  1. racket — for tennis
  2. club — for golf
  3. bound — obliged
  4. rock — a stone
  5. rock — music
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. shower — to wash
  8. shower — rain
  9. track — to keep track
  10. club — for dancing
  11. degree — from a university
  12. bound — certain
  13. degree — temperature
  14. club — a group
  15. degree — an amount
  16. bound — tied together
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. land — ground
  19. rock — to move gently
  20. land — to come down
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. land — a country
  23. track — a song
  24. track — a path

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