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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 stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  6. When will it ________________ you to start?
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  9. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. It's one o'clock ________________.
  13. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  24. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. field — for sport
  3. scale — in music
  4. field — farmland
  5. field — a subject
  6. suit — to fit
  7. suit — in cards
  8. branch — a division
  9. scale — size or range
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. club — a group
  12. sharp — exactly
  13. ruler — for measuring
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. ruler — for measuring
  16. sharp — clever
  17. suit — clothes
  18. cold — an illness
  19. branch — of a tree
  20. cold — not warm
  21. ruler — a monarch
  22. club — for dancing
  23. sharp — with an edge
  24. scale — for weighing

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