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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. That was a fun ________________.
  5. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  8. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  9. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  10. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  11. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  12. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  18. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  23. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  24. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. snap — to snap out of it
  3. wind — moving air
  4. game — a match
  5. track — a path
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. game — wild animals
  8. root — the cause
  9. snap — to click
  10. wind — to turn a key
  11. wind — moving air
  12. rock — a stone
  13. club — for golf
  14. bat — the animal
  15. club — for dancing
  16. track — to keep track
  17. rock — music
  18. rock — to move gently
  19. track — a song
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. snap — to speak sharply
  23. root — of a word
  24. root — of a plant

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