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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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  7. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  10. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  11. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  12. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  17. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  22. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  23. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  24. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. stand — to bear
  3. wake — to stop sleeping
  4. club — for dancing
  5. mine — for digging
  6. stand — on your feet
  7. mine — an explosive
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. row — a quarrel
  10. deal — an agreement
  11. deal — to handle
  12. snap — to speak sharply
  13. squash — the sport
  14. snap — to snap out of it
  15. club — a group
  16. snap — to click
  17. deal — a big deal
  18. row — to paddle
  19. wake — a trail
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. squash — the vegetable
  22. row — a line
  23. stand — for spectators
  24. squash — to crush

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