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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  8. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  9. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  18. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  19. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  20. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  21. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  22. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. patient — calm and waiting
  3. chest — of your body
  4. chest — of your body
  5. march — music
  6. club — for dancing
  7. fork — to eat with
  8. file — a line of people
  9. patient — a sick person
  10. file — a tool
  11. squash — the vegetable
  12. squash — to crush
  13. chest — a box
  14. ball — a dance
  15. march — the month
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. squash — the sport
  18. club — for golf
  19. patient — a sick person
  20. ball — a round shape
  21. march — the month
  22. fork — in a road
  23. ball — a great time
  24. file — a document

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