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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 120 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. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  4. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  5. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  6. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  7. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  17. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  18. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  19. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  22. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  23. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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. cold — the Cold War
  4. rest — what's left
  5. staff — employees
  6. wound — an injury
  7. staff — employees
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. rest — what's left
  10. club — a group
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. fine — all right
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. wound — an injury
  15. cold — not warm
  16. fan — a supporter
  17. wound — past of 'wind'
  18. ruler — a monarch
  19. ruler — for measuring
  20. rest — a break
  21. fine — high quality
  22. ruler — for measuring
  23. cold — an illness
  24. club — for dancing

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