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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  5. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  6. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  7. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  8. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. The people resisted their cruel ________________.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. Borders were drawn on the map using a ________________, with no regard for cultural realities on the ground.
  18. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  19. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  20. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  21. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  22. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. A ________________ helps one to draw a straight line.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. club — for dancing
  4. straw — to clutch at straws
  5. vault — a safe
  6. file — a tool
  7. march — the month
  8. rest — what's left
  9. rest — a break
  10. ruler — a monarch
  11. file — a line of people
  12. straw — a straw man
  13. march — music
  14. march — the month
  15. wound — an injury
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. ruler — for measuring
  18. straw — dry grass
  19. vault — an arched ceiling
  20. vault — in gymnastics
  21. rest — what's left
  22. file — a document
  23. wound — an injury
  24. ruler — for measuring

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