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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. The ________________ took off on time.
  6. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  7. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. The water is too ________________.
  10. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  11. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  12. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  13. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  18. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  23. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  24. Have you met the new head ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. present — there
  4. snap — to click
  5. plane — an aircraft
  6. coach — pulled by horses
  7. coach — a trainer
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. cold — not warm
  10. snap — to snap out of it
  11. plane — a tool
  12. pound — for dogs
  13. cold — an illness
  14. club — for dancing
  15. cold — the Cold War
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. fan — a supporter
  18. plane — in geometry
  19. club — a group
  20. snap — to speak sharply
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — the time now
  23. pound — a weight
  24. coach — a trainer

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