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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Did you ________________ the meat?
  5. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  8. He is an ace ________________.
  9. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  10. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  15. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. She's very handy with a ________________.
  23. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  24. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. club — a group
  4. season — to add flavour
  5. object — an aim
  6. snap — to click
  7. hide — to keep secret
  8. pitcher — in baseball
  9. row — a line
  10. season — of the year
  11. club — for golf
  12. season — in sport
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. snap — to speak sharply
  15. row — a quarrel
  16. saw — the tool
  17. snap — to snap out of it
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. hide — animal skin
  20. object — a thing
  21. row — to paddle
  22. saw — the tool
  23. hide — to keep secret
  24. object — to protest

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