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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  3. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  4. False peace will not ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  7. Have you settled on a ________________?
  8. Have you found your soul ________________?
  9. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  10. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  11. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  15. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  16. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  17. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  18. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  19. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  20. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  21. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. last — finally
  3. spell — magic
  4. last — to go on
  5. club — a group
  6. last — final
  7. date — on the calendar
  8. mate — a partner
  9. chip — in a computer
  10. mate — to breed
  11. date — the fruit
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. club — for golf
  14. chip — to eat
  15. scale — in music
  16. bark — to shout
  17. mate — a friend
  18. chip — for betting
  19. scale — size or range
  20. bark — of a tree
  21. scale — for weighing
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — letters
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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