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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  4. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  5. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  6. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  7. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  8. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  13. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  16. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  19. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  20. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  21. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  22. There's no middle ________________.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. branch — of a bank
  4. bowl — a football final
  5. present — a gift
  6. land — a country
  7. wound — an injury
  8. bowl — a dish
  9. land — to come down
  10. wave — with your hand
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. present — the time now
  13. branch — of a tree
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. wound — past of 'wind'
  16. ground — crushed
  17. club — a group
  18. wave — a sudden rise
  19. branch — a division
  20. wound — an injury
  21. ground — the earth
  22. ground — a position
  23. land — ground
  24. present — there

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