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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. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  9. The ball is in your ________________.
  10. You don't need to ________________ round.
  11. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  12. We're almost out of ________________.
  13. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  16. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  17. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  18. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  19. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  20. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  23. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  24. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.

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

Answer key

  1. snap — to snap out of it
  2. club — for dancing
  3. club — a group
  4. snap — to click
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. court — of law
  7. prune — to trim
  8. board — a committee
  9. court — for sport
  10. pop — to visit
  11. court — of a king
  12. pop — soda
  13. kid — child
  14. field — for sport
  15. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  16. kid — to tease
  17. pop — music
  18. field — a subject
  19. board — to get on
  20. field — farmland
  21. club — for golf
  22. prune — to trim
  23. board — a flat piece
  24. snap — to speak sharply

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