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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 124 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. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  8. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  16. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  17. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  18. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  21. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  22. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. mouse — the animal
  3. fall — to drop
  4. club — a group
  5. fall — the season
  6. club — for golf
  7. wind — moving air
  8. can — a tin
  9. court — for sport
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. cold — an illness
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. can — a tin
  14. court — of law
  15. fall — to drop
  16. wind — moving air
  17. trunk — of a tree
  18. can — to be able to
  19. court — of a king
  20. mouse — for a computer
  21. mouse — the animal
  22. trunk — of a car
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. cold — not warm

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