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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  4. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. We're on a ________________ here.
  12. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  13. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  14. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  15. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  22. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  23. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  24. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. scale — in music
  4. face — to confront
  5. club — for golf
  6. row — a line
  7. branch — a division
  8. wind — moving air
  9. fall — the season
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. roll — on a roll
  12. face — to point toward
  13. row — to paddle
  14. roll — a list
  15. branch — of a tree
  16. roll — a cake
  17. face — part of the head
  18. club — a group
  19. fall — to drop
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. branch — of a bank
  22. fall — to drop
  23. wind — moving air
  24. scale — size or range

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