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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  5. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  6. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  7. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. That was a fun ________________.
  10. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  11. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  12. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  13. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  14. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  15. My father caught me by the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. This piece is in a major ________________.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. fine — a penalty
  3. fine — high quality
  4. kid — child
  5. key — the most important part
  6. bass — the instrument
  7. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. game — a match
  10. bass — the fish
  11. arm — part of the body
  12. key — for a lock
  13. bat — the animal
  14. game — wild animals
  15. arm — part of the body
  16. kid — to tease
  17. key — in music
  18. bass — low music
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. club — a group
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. fine — all right
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. club — for 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