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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 120 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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  6. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  7. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  8. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  17. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  24. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. mouse — for a computer
  3. club — a group
  4. game — a match
  5. game — wild animals
  6. game — a kind of play
  7. fine — a penalty
  8. chair — a leader
  9. club — for dancing
  10. chair — to sit on
  11. shower — to wash
  12. shower — rain
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bass — low music
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. mouse — the animal
  17. fine — all right
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. bass — the fish
  20. club — for golf
  21. spring — the season
  22. spring — of water
  23. bass — the instrument
  24. shower — a meteor shower

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