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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. He works in a ________________ mill.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  14. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  17. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  20. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. club — for golf
  3. staff — employees
  4. hand — in cards
  5. club — a group
  6. straw — dry grass
  7. hand — help
  8. saw — the tool
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. club — for dancing
  12. fine — all right
  13. saw — past of 'see'
  14. mine — belonging to me
  15. bear — the animal
  16. hand — part of the body
  17. staff — employees
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. bear — to put up with
  20. bear — the animal
  21. saw — the tool
  22. staff — a stick
  23. mine — for digging
  24. straw — to clutch at straws

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