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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. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He works in a ________________ mill.
  5. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  8. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  9. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  10. Have you found your soul ________________?
  11. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  14. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  20. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. row — to paddle
  3. club — for golf
  4. saw — the tool
  5. mate — to breed
  6. tear — to rip
  7. mate — a friend
  8. present — the time now
  9. field — farmland
  10. mate — a partner
  11. scale — size or range
  12. club — a group
  13. present — a gift
  14. saw — past of 'see'
  15. tear — from crying
  16. row — a quarrel
  17. saw — the tool
  18. scale — in music
  19. row — a line
  20. tear — from crying
  21. present — there
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. field — for sport
  24. field — a subject

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