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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. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Have you met the new head ________________?
  4. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. You don't need to ________________ round.
  7. It's one o'clock ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  13. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  14. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  15. Did you ________________ the meat?
  16. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  19. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  22. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  23. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. sharp — clever
  2. club — for golf
  3. coach — a trainer
  4. pop — music
  5. club — for dancing
  6. pop — to visit
  7. sharp — exactly
  8. club — a group
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. mine — for digging
  12. sharp — with an edge
  13. season — in sport
  14. pass — a permit
  15. season — to add flavour
  16. trunk — of a tree
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. trunk — of a car
  19. pass — to spend time
  20. pop — soda
  21. mine — belonging to me
  22. coach — a trainer
  23. season — of the year
  24. mine — an explosive

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