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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  9. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  10. Have you met the new head ________________?
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  17. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  20. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  21. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  22. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. can — to be able to
  3. club — for golf
  4. object — to protest
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. band — a music group
  7. can — a tin
  8. coach — a trainer
  9. race — humankind
  10. coach — a trainer
  11. club — a group
  12. leaves — of a tree
  13. band — a ring
  14. leaves — to go away
  15. can — a tin
  16. leaves — lets stay
  17. bat — for baseball
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. race — the arms race
  20. race — a contest
  21. band — a rubber band
  22. object — an aim
  23. bat — the animal
  24. object — a thing

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