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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  7. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  8. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  9. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  10. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  11. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  12. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  13. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  18. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  19. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  22. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  23. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  24. The water is too ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. pound — for dogs
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. deal — an agreement
  7. pound — a weight
  8. deal — a big deal
  9. chair — to sit on
  10. straw — dry grass
  11. straw — a straw man
  12. chair — a professorship
  13. chair — a leader
  14. club — a group
  15. club — for dancing
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. pound — to hit hard
  18. straw — to clutch at straws
  19. stick — to attach or keep to
  20. cold — an illness
  21. stick — a piece of wood
  22. deal — to handle
  23. net — in sport
  24. cold — not warm

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