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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  4. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  7. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  12. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  13. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  17. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  22. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  23. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  24. How do you ________________ your surname?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. bowl — to roll
  4. bat — in an idiom
  5. bat — the animal
  6. bowl — a dish
  7. pound — for dogs
  8. spell — magic
  9. club — for dancing
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. spell — a short time
  12. clip — a video
  13. calf — a young animal
  14. club — a group
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. wax — to grow
  17. bowl — a football final
  18. clip — to cut
  19. calf — of the leg
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. clip — for paper
  22. pound — a weight
  23. calf — a young animal
  24. spell — letters

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