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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. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  5. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  8. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  9. Did you ________________ the meat?
  10. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  11. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  12. False peace will not ________________.
  13. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  14. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  15. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  16. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  19. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  22. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  23. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  24. Spring is a pleasant ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bore — to tire
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. mine — for digging
  5. fan — a supporter
  6. season — in sport
  7. jam — to spread on bread
  8. last — finally
  9. season — to add flavour
  10. pound — a weight
  11. pound — for dogs
  12. last — to go on
  13. bore — gave birth
  14. last — final
  15. jam — a tight spot
  16. bore — to drill
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. mine — an explosive
  19. pound — to hit hard
  20. club — for golf
  21. jam — in traffic
  22. fan — a supporter
  23. mine — belonging to me
  24. season — of the year

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