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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. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  3. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  4. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The ________________ took off on time.
  8. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. That must've been a ________________.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  14. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  15. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  16. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  17. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  20. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  21. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  22. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  23. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. rush — to hurry
  3. rush — hurry
  4. bark — of a tree
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. club — for dancing
  7. plane — an aircraft
  8. bark — to shout
  9. bound — certain
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. rush — a thrill
  12. bound — obliged
  13. bark — a dog's sound
  14. mine — for digging
  15. snap — to snap out of it
  16. plane — a tool
  17. bound — tied together
  18. club — a group
  19. capital — a city
  20. capital — money
  21. snap — to click
  22. capital — a big letter
  23. plane — in geometry
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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