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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  5. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  6. She's very handy with a ________________.
  7. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  8. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He works in a ________________ mill.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  21. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  22. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — an explosive
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. saw — past of 'see'
  5. mine — belonging to me
  6. saw — the tool
  7. wake — a trail
  8. wake — to stop sleeping
  9. club — for golf
  10. saw — the tool
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. pop — soda
  13. wake — before a funeral
  14. club — a group
  15. drill — army training
  16. drill — the tool
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. branch — a division
  20. drill — a practice
  21. bat — the animal
  22. club — for dancing
  23. pop — to visit
  24. pop — music

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