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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. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  6. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  7. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  8. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  9. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  14. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. False peace will not ________________.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  20. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  24. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.

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

Answer key

  1. shower — a meteor shower
  2. club — for golf
  3. bound — certain
  4. net — after costs
  5. lash — to lash out
  6. lash — a whip stroke
  7. lash — an eyelash
  8. racket — for tennis
  9. last — final
  10. last — finally
  11. shower — to wash
  12. bound — obliged
  13. board — a flat piece
  14. net — for catching
  15. club — a group
  16. club — for dancing
  17. last — to go on
  18. net — in sport
  19. racket — a loud noise
  20. board — to get on
  21. bound — tied together
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. shower — rain
  24. board — a committee

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