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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. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  2. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  7. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  8. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  9. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  10. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  11. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  18. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  21. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  24. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.

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

Answer key

  1. straw — a straw man
  2. cue — a hint
  3. club — for golf
  4. rest — what's left
  5. rest — a break
  6. drill — the tool
  7. squash — the vegetable
  8. kid — child
  9. cue — a signal
  10. cue — for pool
  11. squash — the sport
  12. club — a group
  13. club — for dancing
  14. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  15. net — in sport
  16. kid — to tease
  17. straw — to clutch at straws
  18. drill — a practice
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. squash — to crush
  21. drill — army training
  22. net — after costs
  23. net — for catching
  24. rest — what's left

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