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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. The tickets are free of ________________.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  18. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  19. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  20. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. present — a gift
  3. club — for golf
  4. stick — a piece of wood
  5. club — a group
  6. charge — in control
  7. cold — not warm
  8. race — the arms race
  9. present — there
  10. fall — to drop
  11. charge — a price
  12. spring — the season
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. charge — electricity
  15. race — humankind
  16. present — the time now
  17. race — a contest
  18. cold — an illness
  19. fall — to drop
  20. cold — the Cold War
  21. spring — of water
  22. fall — the season
  23. spring — a coil
  24. stick — to attach or keep to

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