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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. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  6. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  12. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  18. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  21. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. swing — in golf
  2. club — for golf
  3. face — to confront
  4. fall — the season
  5. fall — to drop
  6. perch — the fish
  7. face — part of the head
  8. kid — child
  9. club — a group
  10. face — to point toward
  11. swing — music
  12. perch — for a bird
  13. kid — to tease
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. swing — to play on
  16. fall — to drop
  17. root — the cause
  18. drill — army training
  19. club — for dancing
  20. root — of a plant
  21. drill — a practice
  22. root — of a word
  23. perch — for a bird
  24. drill — the tool

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