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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 116 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 had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  2. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  6. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  7. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  8. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  9. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  18. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  21. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  22. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  23. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  24. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.

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

Answer key

  1. kid — child
  2. fine — high quality
  3. club — for golf
  4. game — wild animals
  5. straw — to clutch at straws
  6. stem — a stem cell
  7. fine — all right
  8. kid — to tease
  9. bass — the instrument
  10. club — a group
  11. bass — the fish
  12. fine — a penalty
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. staff — employees
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. game — a match
  17. club — for dancing
  18. staff — employees
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. staff — a stick
  21. stem — to come from
  22. game — a kind of play
  23. straw — a straw man
  24. bass — low music

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