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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I'll be taking the ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  7. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  8. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  16. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  17. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  18. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  19. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  20. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  21. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  22. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. tube — the underground
  3. club — for dancing
  4. staff — employees
  5. march — the month
  6. wind — moving air
  7. ground — crushed
  8. wind — moving air
  9. march — music
  10. chair — a leader
  11. tube — a container
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — to sit on
  14. ground — a position
  15. march — the month
  16. staff — a stick
  17. dip — to sink
  18. wind — to turn a key
  19. staff — employees
  20. dip — to dunk
  21. tube — in a tire
  22. dip — a sauce
  23. club — a group
  24. ground — the earth

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