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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  4. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  7. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  10. We're almost out of ________________.
  11. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  12. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  13. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  14. False peace will not ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  17. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  21. Have you found your soul ________________?
  22. You don't need to ________________ round.
  23. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. file — a document
  4. pitch — completely
  5. file — a tool
  6. last — finally
  7. mate — to breed
  8. club — for dancing
  9. mate — a friend
  10. pop — soda
  11. clip — for paper
  12. pitch — a sports field
  13. cold — the Cold War
  14. last — to go on
  15. cold — not warm
  16. pitch — a sales talk
  17. clip — a video
  18. cold — an illness
  19. pop — music
  20. clip — to cut
  21. mate — a partner
  22. pop — to visit
  23. file — a line of people
  24. last — final

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