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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. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  3. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  6. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  7. She's very handy with a ________________.
  8. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  9. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  10. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  11. He works in a ________________ mill.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  21. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  24. The polar ice ________________ is melting.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. cap — a lid
  3. fine — high quality
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pit — a fruit stone
  6. fine — all right
  7. saw — the tool
  8. chest — of your body
  9. chest — of your body
  10. fine — a penalty
  11. saw — the tool
  12. prune — to trim
  13. prune — the fruit
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. chest — a box
  16. saw — past of 'see'
  17. club — for dancing
  18. club — a group
  19. wind — moving air
  20. cap — a hat
  21. prune — to trim
  22. pit — a hole
  23. pit — in a race
  24. cap — of ice

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