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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. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  4. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  5. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  6. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  14. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  22. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  23. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  24. I have a corn on my right ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wave — with your hand
  2. club — for golf
  3. field — farmland
  4. fan — to cool the air
  5. hand — help
  6. fan — a supporter
  7. hand — in cards
  8. current — electric
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. club — for dancing
  11. field — a subject
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. foot — a measure
  14. field — for sport
  15. club — a group
  16. foot — the bottom
  17. spring — of water
  18. wave — of the sea
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. current — happening now
  22. current — of water
  23. hand — part of the body
  24. foot — part of the 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