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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  5. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  13. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  14. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  15. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  19. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  20. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  24. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. club — for golf
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. plane — in geometry
  5. band — a ring
  6. band — a music group
  7. club — a group
  8. wind — moving air
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. fine — all right
  13. wind — to turn a key
  14. kid — to tease
  15. fine — high quality
  16. hand — help
  17. club — for dancing
  18. rock — a stone
  19. band — a rubber band
  20. kid — child
  21. hand — in cards
  22. plane — a tool
  23. rock — to move gently
  24. wind — moving air

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