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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. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  4. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  8. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  9. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  10. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  11. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  12. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  13. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  14. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  20. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  21. That was ________________ to happen.
  22. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  23. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. file — a line of people
  3. hand — help
  4. press — a publisher
  5. club — for golf
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. track — a song
  8. hand — in cards
  9. wake — to stop sleeping
  10. capital — money
  11. file — a tool
  12. press — newspapers
  13. file — a document
  14. track — to keep track
  15. bound — obliged
  16. capital — a city
  17. hand — part of the body
  18. press — to push
  19. wake — before a funeral
  20. track — a path
  21. bound — certain
  22. bound — tied together
  23. wake — a trail
  24. club — for dancing

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