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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  19. Don't do anything ________________.
  20. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  21. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  22. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  23. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  24. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. chair — a leader
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. rash — on the skin
  5. club — for dancing
  6. rash — a series
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. fork — to eat with
  9. club — a group
  10. bore — to tire
  11. field — a subject
  12. bore — to drill
  13. field — farmland
  14. bore — gave birth
  15. roll — a list
  16. bass — low music
  17. fork — in a road
  18. fork — a garden tool
  19. rash — hasty
  20. bass — the instrument
  21. roll — a cake
  22. field — for sport
  23. bass — the fish
  24. chair — a professorship

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