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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  3. There's no middle ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  8. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  9. He is an ace ________________.
  10. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  13. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  14. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  22. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  23. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  24. We had a fire ________________ at school today.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. drill — the tool
  3. ground — a position
  4. club — for golf
  5. current — electric
  6. swing — in golf
  7. ground — the earth
  8. current — of water
  9. pitcher — in baseball
  10. branch — of a bank
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. net — after costs
  13. net — for catching
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. swing — to play on
  16. drill — army training
  17. branch — a division
  18. current — happening now
  19. net — in sport
  20. club — a group
  21. swing — music
  22. ground — crushed
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. drill — a practice

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