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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  4. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  5. False peace will not ________________.
  6. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. Did you ________________ the meat?
  9. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  10. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  11. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  16. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. Don't do anything ________________.
  19. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  20. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  21. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  22. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  23. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  24. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — a group
  3. kick — a thrill
  4. bark — to shout
  5. last — to go on
  6. season — in sport
  7. rash — a series
  8. season — to add flavour
  9. last — finally
  10. track — to keep track
  11. kick — with a leg
  12. track — a song
  13. wound — past of 'wind'
  14. club — for golf
  15. wound — an injury
  16. kick — in football
  17. wound — an injury
  18. rash — hasty
  19. last — final
  20. season — of the year
  21. bark — a dog's sound
  22. rash — on the skin
  23. track — a path
  24. bark — of a tree

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