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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 had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  5. The water is too ________________.
  6. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  7. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  15. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  16. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  19. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  20. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  21. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  22. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cold — an illness
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. branch — of a bank
  5. cold — not warm
  6. racket — a loud noise
  7. racket — for tennis
  8. sharp — clever
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. club — a group
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. branch — a division
  15. hide — to keep secret
  16. mine — for digging
  17. club — for golf
  18. fine — all right
  19. cold — the Cold War
  20. branch — of a tree
  21. racket — for tennis
  22. hide — animal skin
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. fine — high quality

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