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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. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  8. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  9. When are we going to ________________?
  10. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  11. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  12. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  13. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  17. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  18. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  19. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  20. That must've been a ________________.
  21. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  22. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. land — a country
  3. land — ground
  4. wake — a trail
  5. deal — a big deal
  6. club — for golf
  7. chair — a professorship
  8. chest — of your body
  9. land — to come down
  10. wake — to stop sleeping
  11. chest — of your body
  12. date — on the calendar
  13. chest — a box
  14. date — the fruit
  15. club — a group
  16. chair — to sit on
  17. wake — before a funeral
  18. chair — a leader
  19. rush — hurry
  20. rush — a thrill
  21. rush — to hurry
  22. deal — an agreement
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. deal — to handle

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