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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  7. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  8. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  9. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  10. The ________________ took off on time.
  11. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. I can't ________________ this cold.
  14. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  15. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  16. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  20. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  21. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. straw — dry grass
  3. club — a group
  4. stand — on your feet
  5. club — for dancing
  6. stem — to come from
  7. stem — of a plant
  8. stem — a stem cell
  9. straw — a straw man
  10. plane — an aircraft
  11. degree — from a university
  12. degree — an amount
  13. stand — to bear
  14. plane — a tool
  15. capital — a city
  16. degree — temperature
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. stand — for spectators
  20. bore — to tire
  21. capital — a big letter
  22. capital — money
  23. bore — gave birth
  24. bore — to drill

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