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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  6. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  9. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  10. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  13. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  14. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  17. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  23. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  24. That was a fun ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. nail — for a hammer
  3. band — a music group
  4. spring — a coil
  5. kick — with a leg
  6. kick — in football
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. row — a line
  9. spring — of water
  10. present — there
  11. club — for dancing
  12. game — a kind of play
  13. nail — on a finger
  14. band — a rubber band
  15. present — the time now
  16. kick — a thrill
  17. row — to paddle
  18. club — a group
  19. spring — the season
  20. band — a ring
  21. game — wild animals
  22. present — a gift
  23. row — a quarrel
  24. game — a match

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