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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. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  6. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  14. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. When will it ________________ you to start?
  19. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  20. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  21. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. suit — in cards
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. club — for golf
  4. band — a ring
  5. net — in sport
  6. net — for catching
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. club — a group
  10. mine — for digging
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. perch — the fish
  14. suit — clothes
  15. cold — not warm
  16. band — a music group
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. suit — to fit
  19. leaves — of a tree
  20. net — after costs
  21. cold — the Cold War
  22. cold — an illness
  23. club — for dancing
  24. band — a rubber band

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