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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. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  3. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  10. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  11. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  14. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  15. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  16. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  17. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  18. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  21. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  22. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  23. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  24. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bass — low music
  3. calf — a young animal
  4. club — for dancing
  5. bat — the animal
  6. rule — government
  7. game — a match
  8. club — a group
  9. game — wild animals
  10. game — a kind of play
  11. bass — the instrument
  12. fine — high quality
  13. bass — the fish
  14. fine — all right
  15. fork — in a road
  16. bat — in an idiom
  17. calf — of the leg
  18. rule — to rule out
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. calf — a young animal
  21. fork — to eat with
  22. rule — a law
  23. bat — for baseball
  24. fork — a garden tool

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