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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  4. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  7. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  8. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  9. We're on a ________________ here.
  10. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  11. You don't need to ________________ round.
  12. This piece is in a major ________________.
  13. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  18. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  21. We're almost out of ________________.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  24. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. spell — letters
  3. kid — child
  4. mark — a grade
  5. club — for golf
  6. kid — to tease
  7. net — for catching
  8. key — the most important part
  9. roll — on a roll
  10. key — for a lock
  11. pop — to visit
  12. key — in music
  13. spell — magic
  14. net — in sport
  15. net — after costs
  16. roll — a cake
  17. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  18. mark — to pay attention
  19. club — for dancing
  20. roll — a list
  21. pop — soda
  22. spell — a short time
  23. pop — music
  24. mark — a trace

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