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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  4. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  5. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  6. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  10. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  14. She's very handy with a ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  17. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  18. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  19. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  20. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. It's one o'clock ________________.
  24. He works in a ________________ mill.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. bat — for baseball
  4. present — the time now
  5. field — farmland
  6. wave — with your hand
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. present — there
  10. wave — of the sea
  11. field — for sport
  12. present — a gift
  13. rest — what's left
  14. saw — the tool
  15. club — a group
  16. sharp — clever
  17. rest — a break
  18. bat — the animal
  19. rest — what's left
  20. field — a subject
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. sharp — exactly
  24. saw — the tool

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