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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. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  13. I'll be taking the ________________.
  14. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  15. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  16. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  17. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  18. Have you met the new head ________________?
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. The tickets are free of ________________.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. rest — what's left
  2. club — for golf
  3. rest — what's left
  4. bat — the animal
  5. coach — a trainer
  6. club — for dancing
  7. shower — to wash
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. band — a ring
  10. club — a group
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. tube — a container
  13. tube — the underground
  14. shower — a meteor shower
  15. rest — a break
  16. coach — pulled by horses
  17. tube — in a tire
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. shower — rain
  20. charge — a price
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — electricity
  23. band — a music group
  24. band — a rubber band

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