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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  3. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  6. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  7. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  10. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  16. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  17. The ________________ took off on time.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  21. That must've been a ________________.
  22. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  23. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  24. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. fork — in a road
  3. band — a ring
  4. chest — of your body
  5. lean — thin
  6. chest — of your body
  7. fork — a garden tool
  8. club — for golf
  9. lean — to rest against
  10. plane — in geometry
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. chest — a box
  13. club — for dancing
  14. plane — a tool
  15. band — a rubber band
  16. file — a document
  17. plane — an aircraft
  18. lean — to bend
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rush — to hurry
  21. rush — a thrill
  22. file — a line of people
  23. file — a tool
  24. band — a music group

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