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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 120 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. I can't ________________ this cold.
  3. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  4. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  5. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  6. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  7. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  10. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  11. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  22. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  23. There's no middle ________________.
  24. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. stand — to bear
  3. object — an aim
  4. rush — hurry
  5. clip — for paper
  6. object — a thing
  7. stand — for spectators
  8. ground — crushed
  9. bore — to drill
  10. bore — gave birth
  11. bore — to tire
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. clip — to cut
  14. ground — the earth
  15. object — to protest
  16. club — for dancing
  17. row — a line
  18. club — a group
  19. clip — a video
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. row — to paddle
  22. rush — to hurry
  23. ground — a position
  24. stand — on your feet

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