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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. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  12. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  17. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  20. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Have you met the new head ________________?
  23. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. hand — help
  5. hand — in cards
  6. hand — part of the body
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. squash — the sport
  10. club — for dancing
  11. coach — a trainer
  12. branch — of a tree
  13. squash — to crush
  14. kid — child
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. branch — a division
  17. coach — pulled by horses
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. branch — of a bank
  20. stick — to attach or keep to
  21. club — for golf
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. kid — to tease
  24. fan — a supporter

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