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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. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  7. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  12. David sat on the ________________.
  13. There's no middle ________________.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  16. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  17. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  18. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  19. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  20. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  21. How do you ________________ your surname?
  22. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  23. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  24. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. lash — a whip stroke
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — for golf
  4. band — a ring
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. mate — to breed
  7. swing — in golf
  8. ground — crushed
  9. club — a group
  10. ground — the earth
  11. band — a music group
  12. swing — to play on
  13. ground — a position
  14. mate — a partner
  15. mate — a friend
  16. lash — to lash out
  17. spell — a short time
  18. bass — low music
  19. lash — an eyelash
  20. band — a rubber band
  21. spell — letters
  22. bass — the fish
  23. swing — music
  24. spell — magic

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