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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. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  3. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. Don't do anything ________________.
  9. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  18. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  23. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. fork — to eat with
  3. kick — with a leg
  4. club — for golf
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. net — in sport
  7. club — a group
  8. rash — hasty
  9. season — in sport
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. season — of the year
  12. fork — in a road
  13. stem — a stem cell
  14. net — for catching
  15. kick — a thrill
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. kick — in football
  18. rash — on the skin
  19. pound — a weight
  20. rash — a series
  21. net — after costs
  22. stem — of a plant
  23. stem — to come from
  24. fork — a garden tool

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