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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. Don't do anything ________________.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  7. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. Where did you ________________ them?
  10. False peace will not ________________.
  11. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  14. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  15. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. Did you ________________ the meat?
  19. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  20. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rash — hasty
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. club — for golf
  4. pop — music
  5. club — for dancing
  6. wind — moving air
  7. season — in sport
  8. pop — soda
  9. mug — to rob
  10. last — to go on
  11. last — final
  12. ground — a position
  13. last — finally
  14. mug — a cup
  15. mug — a face
  16. club — a group
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. season — to add flavour
  19. rash — a series
  20. ground — crushed
  21. ground — the earth
  22. season — of the year
  23. pop — to visit
  24. wind — moving air

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