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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. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  5. Why are you trying to ________________ your feelings?
  6. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. We have nothing to ________________ here.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  17. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  18. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  19. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  22. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  23. She was laid on a cow-________________ and covered by a coarse woollen blanket.
  24. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. cap — a hat
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. mouse — the animal
  5. hide — to keep secret
  6. field — for sport
  7. club — for golf
  8. march — the month
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. cap — of ice
  11. field — a subject
  12. hide — to keep secret
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. straw — dry grass
  15. march — the month
  16. cap — a lid
  17. straw — a straw man
  18. mouse — the animal
  19. field — farmland
  20. club — for dancing
  21. march — music
  22. mouse — for a computer
  23. hide — animal skin
  24. wake — a trail

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