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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  7. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  11. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  12. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  18. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  19. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  20. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. capital — a city
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — a group
  6. bat — for baseball
  7. capital — a big letter
  8. sharp — clever
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. bat — the animal
  11. sharp — with an edge
  12. band — a rubber band
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. spring — of water
  15. spring — a coil
  16. band — a music group
  17. wave — of the sea
  18. capital — money
  19. wave — a sudden rise
  20. fan — a supporter
  21. spring — the season
  22. wave — with your hand
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. band — a ring

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