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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  4. When was this ________________ built?
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  9. I've got to change the light ________________.
  10. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  11. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  12. The light ________________ burned out.
  13. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  14. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  15. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  16. I can't ________________ this cold.
  17. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  18. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  19. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  20. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. march — the month
  4. temple — a place of worship
  5. field — farmland
  6. club — for dancing
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. field — a subject
  9. bulb — for light
  10. chest — of your body
  11. bulb — of a plant
  12. bulb — for light
  13. temple — a place of worship
  14. straw — a straw man
  15. chest — of your body
  16. stand — to bear
  17. march — the month
  18. chest — a box
  19. temple — side of the head
  20. field — for sport
  21. march — music
  22. stand — for spectators
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. club — for golf

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