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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. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  4. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  5. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  6. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  7. Don't do anything ________________.
  8. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  9. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  10. That was a fun ________________.
  11. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  18. David sat on the ________________.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  22. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  23. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  24. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.

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. track — a path
  4. rash — a series
  5. bowl — a football final
  6. capital — money
  7. rash — hasty
  8. capital — a city
  9. bowl — a dish
  10. game — a match
  11. track — a song
  12. club — for golf
  13. game — a kind of play
  14. drill — army training
  15. game — wild animals
  16. track — to keep track
  17. swing — in golf
  18. swing — to play on
  19. swing — music
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. rash — on the skin
  22. drill — the tool
  23. drill — a practice
  24. bowl — to roll

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