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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'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  3. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. It's one o'clock ________________.
  6. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  7. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  13. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  14. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  19. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. When are we going to ________________?
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. land — ground
  3. court — of law
  4. club — for dancing
  5. sharp — exactly
  6. rash — on the skin
  7. cue — a signal
  8. sharp — clever
  9. court — for sport
  10. march — the month
  11. land — a country
  12. cue — for pool
  13. rash — a series
  14. sharp — with an edge
  15. rash — hasty
  16. march — the month
  17. march — music
  18. wound — past of 'wind'
  19. court — of a king
  20. wound — an injury
  21. land — to come down
  22. wound — an injury
  23. cue — a hint
  24. club — a group

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