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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  4. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  5. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  8. The ball is in your ________________.
  9. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  10. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  11. The ________________ took off on time.
  12. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. That was ________________ to happen.
  16. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  21. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  22. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  23. The water is too ________________.
  24. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. club — for golf
  3. court — of a king
  4. bass — the fish
  5. cold — the Cold War
  6. club — a group
  7. mark — to pay attention
  8. court — for sport
  9. cold — an illness
  10. object — to protest
  11. plane — an aircraft
  12. bass — the instrument
  13. club — for dancing
  14. bass — low music
  15. bound — certain
  16. bound — obliged
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. mark — a trace
  19. bound — tied together
  20. plane — a tool
  21. mark — a grade
  22. court — of law
  23. cold — not warm
  24. object — a thing

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