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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  9. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  10. He is an ace ________________.
  11. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  12. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  18. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  19. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  20. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  21. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. stand — on your feet
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. mine — for digging
  5. band — a ring
  6. club — a group
  7. ball — a dance
  8. bark — a dog's sound
  9. net — for catching
  10. pitcher — in baseball
  11. pitcher — a jug
  12. bark — to shout
  13. stand — to bear
  14. net — in sport
  15. bark — of a tree
  16. net — after costs
  17. mine — an explosive
  18. band — a rubber band
  19. ball — a round shape
  20. band — a music group
  21. ball — a great time
  22. club — for golf
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. pitcher — a jug

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