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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. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  3. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  4. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  7. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  10. The water is too ________________.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  13. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  14. I'll be taking the ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. When are we going to ________________?
  17. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  18. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  23. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  24. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. staff — a stick
  3. land — a country
  4. bore — to tire
  5. club — a group
  6. staff — employees
  7. row — a quarrel
  8. land — ground
  9. tube — a container
  10. cold — not warm
  11. staff — employees
  12. cold — an illness
  13. row — a line
  14. tube — the underground
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. land — to come down
  17. leaves — lets stay
  18. leaves — of a tree
  19. club — for dancing
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. bore — to drill
  23. row — to paddle
  24. bore — gave birth

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