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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 120 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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  5. He is an ace ________________.
  6. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  12. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  13. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  18. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. spring — of water
  4. wake — before a funeral
  5. pitcher — in baseball
  6. deal — to handle
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. kid — to tease
  9. board — to get on
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. board — a committee
  12. kid — child
  13. wake — to stop sleeping
  14. swing — in golf
  15. spring — the season
  16. spring — a coil
  17. wake — a trail
  18. deal — an agreement
  19. swing — music
  20. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  21. swing — to play on
  22. club — for dancing
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. deal — a big deal

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