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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. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  12. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  13. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  14. David sat on the ________________.
  15. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  16. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  17. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. bowl — a dish
  4. hand — help
  5. swing — in golf
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. bowl — a football final
  8. club — for golf
  9. bank — of a river
  10. club — for dancing
  11. bowl — to roll
  12. wound — past of 'wind'
  13. wound — an injury
  14. swing — to play on
  15. rash — on the skin
  16. wound — an injury
  17. rash — a series
  18. bank — for money
  19. swing — music
  20. hand — in cards
  21. rash — hasty
  22. bank — for money
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. fork — in a road

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