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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 116 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 got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  2. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  9. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  10. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — a penalty
  2. land — a country
  3. shower — to wash
  4. hide — to keep secret
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. club — for dancing
  7. ball — a dance
  8. scale — for weighing
  9. land — ground
  10. fine — all right
  11. fine — high quality
  12. swing — to play on
  13. hide — to keep secret
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. scale — in music
  16. land — to come down
  17. hide — animal skin
  18. scale — size or range
  19. swing — music
  20. shower — rain
  21. club — for golf
  22. club — a group
  23. ball — a great time
  24. swing — in golf

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