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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  3. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  4. Don't do anything ________________.
  5. That was a fun ________________.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  8. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. The ________________ took off on time.
  13. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  14. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  20. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  21. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  22. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. present — the time now
  3. field — a subject
  4. rash — hasty
  5. game — a match
  6. land — to come down
  7. game — a kind of play
  8. present — a gift
  9. present — there
  10. rest — what's left
  11. field — for sport
  12. plane — an aircraft
  13. game — wild animals
  14. land — ground
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. club — for dancing
  17. land — a country
  18. club — a group
  19. rest — what's left
  20. rest — a break
  21. plane — a tool
  22. field — farmland
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. rash — a series

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