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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. Nothing provides more peace of mind than a ________________ decision.
  4. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  5. I'll be taking the ________________.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. The ball is in your ________________.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  13. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  14. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  15. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  16. The water is too ________________.
  17. I'll stand ________________ for what I deserve.
  18. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. She works as an advertiser at a New Jersey ________________.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  23. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. cold — an illness
  3. firm — decided
  4. fine — a penalty
  5. tube — the underground
  6. drill — the tool
  7. court — for sport
  8. fine — all right
  9. club — for golf
  10. cold — the Cold War
  11. tube — a container
  12. straw — dry grass
  13. tube — in a tire
  14. court — of law
  15. court — of a king
  16. cold — not warm
  17. firm — steady
  18. straw — a straw man
  19. drill — a practice
  20. firm — a company
  21. drill — army training
  22. fine — high quality
  23. straw — to clutch at straws
  24. club — for dancing

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