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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. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  7. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  8. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  11. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  14. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  15. Don't do anything ________________.
  16. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  17. The hot cup left a ________________ on the table.
  18. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  19. ________________ my words: he'll be late again.
  20. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  21. I've got to change the light ________________.
  22. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  23. She got the top ________________ in the exam.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. track — a song
  2. club — a group
  3. rash — a series
  4. club — for golf
  5. club — for dancing
  6. fork — a garden tool
  7. bulb — of a plant
  8. file — a tool
  9. spell — letters
  10. file — a document
  11. fork — to eat with
  12. file — a line of people
  13. track — a path
  14. rash — on the skin
  15. rash — hasty
  16. fork — in a road
  17. mark — a trace
  18. track — to keep track
  19. mark — to pay attention
  20. spell — a short time
  21. bulb — for light
  22. spell — magic
  23. mark — a grade
  24. bulb — for light

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