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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  8. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  9. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  10. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  13. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. We're on a ________________ here.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  18. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  19. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  20. I'll be taking the ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  23. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  24. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. hand — in cards
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. club — for dancing
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. roll — a list
  8. tube — in a tire
  9. stem — to come from
  10. fork — in a road
  11. chair — a leader
  12. fork — to eat with
  13. tube — a container
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. roll — on a roll
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. roll — a cake
  18. scale — in music
  19. scale — for weighing
  20. tube — the underground
  21. club — for golf
  22. scale — size or range
  23. hand — help
  24. stem — of a plant

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