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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. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  5. You don't need to ________________ round.
  6. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  7. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  10. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  11. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  17. There's no middle ________________.
  18. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  23. He works in a ________________ mill.
  24. We're almost out of ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — past of 'see'
  2. club — for golf
  3. saw — the tool
  4. file — a line of people
  5. pop — to visit
  6. file — a document
  7. chair — to sit on
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. bat — in an idiom
  10. ground — the earth
  11. chair — a leader
  12. club — a group
  13. shower — to wash
  14. bat — the animal
  15. club — for dancing
  16. shower — rain
  17. ground — a position
  18. ground — crushed
  19. pop — music
  20. file — a tool
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. chair — a professorship
  23. saw — the tool
  24. pop — soda

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