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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 120 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. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  3. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  4. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  7. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  10. Did you ________________ the meat?
  11. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  14. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  15. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  16. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  17. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  18. Where did you ________________ them?
  19. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  23. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  24. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. mug — a cup
  3. season — of the year
  4. cap — of ice
  5. fine — all right
  6. cap — a hat
  7. mug — a face
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. foot — a measure
  10. season — to add flavour
  11. fine — a penalty
  12. club — for dancing
  13. bat — in an idiom
  14. fine — high quality
  15. sharp — clever
  16. sharp — with an edge
  17. bat — the animal
  18. mug — to rob
  19. foot — the bottom
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. club — a group
  22. season — in sport
  23. foot — part of the body
  24. cap — a lid

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