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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  3. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  4. The tickets are free of ________________.
  5. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  6. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  7. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  8. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  9. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  10. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  13. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  14. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  15. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  24. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. object — a thing
  3. field — for sport
  4. charge — a price
  5. hand — in cards
  6. field — a subject
  7. charge — in control
  8. field — farmland
  9. charge — electricity
  10. degree — from a university
  11. bound — obliged
  12. object — to protest
  13. shower — to wash
  14. hand — part of the body
  15. shower — a meteor shower
  16. hand — help
  17. degree — temperature
  18. club — for dancing
  19. shower — rain
  20. bound — certain
  21. bound — tied together
  22. club — for golf
  23. object — an aim
  24. degree — an amount

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