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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. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. How do you ________________ your surname?
  5. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  6. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  7. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  8. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  14. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  15. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  16. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  17. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  18. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.

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

Answer key

  1. spell — a short time
  2. club — for golf
  3. march — the month
  4. spell — letters
  5. cap — of ice
  6. lean — to rest against
  7. field — for sport
  8. spell — magic
  9. cap — a hat
  10. kick — in football
  11. club — a group
  12. march — the month
  13. field — a subject
  14. lean — thin
  15. lean — to bend
  16. field — farmland
  17. cap — a lid
  18. kick — a thrill
  19. wind — moving air
  20. club — for dancing
  21. kick — with a leg
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. wind — moving air
  24. march — music

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