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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 116 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. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The light ________________ burned out.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  11. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. I've got to change the light ________________.
  21. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. Do you need a ________________ with that?

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. field — farmland
  3. bound — certain
  4. bulb — of a plant
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. bulb — for light
  7. scale — size or range
  8. bound — tied together
  9. club — for dancing
  10. snap — to click
  11. hide — to keep secret
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. scale — in music
  14. club — for golf
  15. hand — in cards
  16. bound — obliged
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. field — a subject
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. bulb — for light
  21. field — for sport
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. hand — help

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