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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 116 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  3. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  4. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  5. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  8. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  9. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  12. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  13. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  14. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  17. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  18. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  19. The water is too ________________.
  20. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  21. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  22. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  23. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  24. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. shower — to wash
  3. wake — before a funeral
  4. pass — a permit
  5. bass — the fish
  6. club — a group
  7. bass — the instrument
  8. staff — employees
  9. bass — low music
  10. club — for dancing
  11. wake — to stop sleeping
  12. wake — a trail
  13. staff — employees
  14. bark — to shout
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. cold — the Cold War
  17. pass — to succeed
  18. shower — rain
  19. cold — not warm
  20. shower — a meteor shower
  21. cold — an illness
  22. bark — of a tree
  23. staff — a stick
  24. bark — a dog's sound

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