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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  4. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  5. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  6. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  9. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  10. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  11. He was locked up in a ________________.
  12. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. mug — to rob
  3. board — a flat piece
  4. mug — a face
  5. branch — of a tree
  6. board — to get on
  7. drill — army training
  8. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  9. kid — to tease
  10. branch — a division
  11. cell — in a prison
  12. cell — a phone
  13. club — for golf
  14. mug — a cup
  15. cell — in biology
  16. field — a subject
  17. field — farmland
  18. club — a group
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. drill — the tool
  21. field — for sport
  22. board — a committee
  23. drill — a practice
  24. kid — child

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