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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  4. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  5. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  6. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  7. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  8. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  9. Have you met the new head ________________?
  10. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  14. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  15. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  16. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  17. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  18. Did you ________________ the button?
  19. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  22. That was ________________ to happen.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. club — for golf
  3. net — in sport
  4. hand — part of the body
  5. lash — a whip stroke
  6. lash — to lash out
  7. hand — help
  8. coach — pulled by horses
  9. coach — a trainer
  10. press — a publisher
  11. net — for catching
  12. club — for dancing
  13. lie — an untruth
  14. press — newspapers
  15. bound — obliged
  16. net — after costs
  17. lash — an eyelash
  18. press — to push
  19. lie — to recline
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. hand — in cards
  22. bound — certain
  23. bound — tied together
  24. coach — a trainer

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