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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 120 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. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  6. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  7. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  10. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. My mare is ________________ in color.
  13. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  14. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  15. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  16. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  17. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  18. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  21. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  22. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  23. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. march — the month
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. wound — past of 'wind'
  6. band — a music group
  7. band — a rubber band
  8. capital — a city
  9. march — music
  10. bay — to keep at bay
  11. club — for dancing
  12. bay — a horse colour
  13. band — a ring
  14. net — in sport
  15. capital — a big letter
  16. fall — to drop
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wound — an injury
  19. wound — an injury
  20. fall — the season
  21. bay — a part of the sea
  22. march — the month
  23. capital — money
  24. club — a group

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