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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  4. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  9. Don't do anything ________________.
  10. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  11. How can I extract the audio from a video ________________?
  12. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  13. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. Hold the papers together with a ________________.
  16. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  17. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  20. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  21. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  24. It seems a cruel thing to ________________ a bird's wings.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. club — for dancing
  3. pass — a permit
  4. land — ground
  5. club — for golf
  6. kick — with a leg
  7. rash — a series
  8. kick — a thrill
  9. rash — hasty
  10. pass — to spend time
  11. clip — a video
  12. fork — in a road
  13. fork — to eat with
  14. drill — the tool
  15. clip — for paper
  16. drill — army training
  17. land — a country
  18. land — to come down
  19. rash — on the skin
  20. kick — in football
  21. fork — a garden tool
  22. drill — a practice
  23. pass — to succeed
  24. clip — to cut

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