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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  3. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  4. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  7. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  8. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  9. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  12. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  15. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  16. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  17. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  18. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  19. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. wound — past of 'wind'
  3. chair — to sit on
  4. calf — a young animal
  5. club — a group
  6. calf — of the leg
  7. club — for golf
  8. squash — the sport
  9. chair — a leader
  10. drill — army training
  11. rock — a stone
  12. wound — an injury
  13. wound — an injury
  14. chest — of your body
  15. chest — a box
  16. rock — to move gently
  17. calf — a young animal
  18. chair — a professorship
  19. squash — to crush
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. drill — the tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. rock — music
  24. chest — of your body

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