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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. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  3. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  4. Where did you ________________ them?
  5. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  12. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  13. He works in a ________________ mill.
  14. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  15. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  16. She's very handy with a ________________.
  17. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  18. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. That was a fun ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. mug — a face
  3. game — a kind of play
  4. mug — to rob
  5. chest — of your body
  6. wind — moving air
  7. wind — to turn a key
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cue — for pool
  10. chest — of your body
  11. mug — a cup
  12. cue — a signal
  13. saw — the tool
  14. chest — a box
  15. bark — a dog's sound
  16. saw — the tool
  17. cue — a hint
  18. saw — past of 'see'
  19. wind — moving air
  20. game — a match
  21. club — a group
  22. club — for dancing
  23. game — wild animals
  24. bark — to shout

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