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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 120 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. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  5. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  6. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. When are we going to ________________?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  11. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  16. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  17. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  18. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  19. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  20. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. He is an ace ________________.
  23. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  24. That must've been a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — a jug
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — a group
  4. pit — a hole
  5. row — to paddle
  6. pit — in a race
  7. land — ground
  8. land — to come down
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. rush — to hurry
  11. rush — hurry
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. coach — pulled by horses
  14. club — for dancing
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. land — a country
  17. pit — a fruit stone
  18. row — a line
  19. bat — for baseball
  20. row — a quarrel
  21. bat — the animal
  22. pitcher — in baseball
  23. bat — in an idiom
  24. rush — a thrill

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