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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  3. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  7. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  17. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  18. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  19. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  20. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  21. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  24. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. dip — a sauce
  3. fall — to drop
  4. club — for golf
  5. present — the time now
  6. dip — to sink
  7. court — of a king
  8. drill — army training
  9. court — for sport
  10. drill — a practice
  11. club — for dancing
  12. present — a gift
  13. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  14. field — for sport
  15. fall — to drop
  16. court — of law
  17. kid — child
  18. field — farmland
  19. field — a subject
  20. kid — to tease
  21. dip — to dunk
  22. fall — the season
  23. present — there
  24. drill — the 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