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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. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  3. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  4. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  5. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  9. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  13. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  14. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. David sat on the ________________.
  17. That was a fun ________________.
  18. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  19. I'll be taking the ________________.
  20. When are we going to ________________?
  21. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  24. ________________ games are popular in Germany.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. swing — music
  3. swing — in golf
  4. board — a committee
  5. tube — a container
  6. spring — a coil
  7. land — ground
  8. game — wild animals
  9. board — to get on
  10. club — for dancing
  11. spring — of water
  12. squash — to crush
  13. squash — the sport
  14. squash — the vegetable
  15. spring — the season
  16. swing — to play on
  17. game — a match
  18. tube — in a tire
  19. tube — the underground
  20. land — to come down
  21. land — a country
  22. club — a group
  23. game — a kind of play
  24. board — a flat piece

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