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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. He is an ace ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  4. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  10. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  13. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  14. I can't ________________ this cold.
  15. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  20. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. David sat on the ________________.
  23. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. pitcher — in baseball
  2. swing — in golf
  3. rule — government
  4. swing — music
  5. club — for dancing
  6. tear — to rip
  7. club — for golf
  8. club — a group
  9. pitcher — a jug
  10. scale — in music
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. rule — a law
  13. bat — for baseball
  14. stand — to bear
  15. stand — for spectators
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. tear — from crying
  18. scale — size or range
  19. bat — the animal
  20. tear — from crying
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. swing — to play on
  23. pitcher — a jug
  24. stand — on your feet

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