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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  3. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  9. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  10. I'll be taking the ________________.
  11. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  12. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  13. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. It's one o'clock ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. bat — for baseball
  3. cap — a hat
  4. pop — music
  5. bound — certain
  6. cap — of ice
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. court — of a king
  9. sharp — clever
  10. tube — the underground
  11. bound — tied together
  12. cap — a lid
  13. court — of law
  14. bat — the animal
  15. tube — a container
  16. sharp — exactly
  17. club — for golf
  18. pop — to visit
  19. court — for sport
  20. pop — soda
  21. bat — in an idiom
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. club — for dancing
  24. bound — obliged

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