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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 116 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. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  8. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  13. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  14. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  15. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  16. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  17. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  23. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. fan — to cool the air
  3. club — for golf
  4. bound — obliged
  5. bound — certain
  6. club — a group
  7. wind — moving air
  8. straw — dry grass
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. chair — a leader
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. bark — of a tree
  14. wind — moving air
  15. chair — a professorship
  16. bound — tied together
  17. track — a path
  18. track — to keep track
  19. chair — to sit on
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. track — a song
  22. bark — to shout
  23. bark — a dog's sound
  24. wind — to turn a key

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