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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  7. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  12. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  13. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  14. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  15. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  18. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  19. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  20. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  23. He is an ace ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — for dancing
  3. ball — a dance
  4. object — an aim
  5. club — a group
  6. bat — in an idiom
  7. root — the cause
  8. root — of a word
  9. clip — for paper
  10. track — a path
  11. bat — for baseball
  12. ball — a round shape
  13. object — to protest
  14. ball — a great time
  15. root — of a plant
  16. track — to keep track
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. clip — to cut
  19. track — a song
  20. object — a thing
  21. bat — the animal
  22. clip — a video
  23. pitcher — in baseball
  24. pitcher — a jug

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