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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. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  2. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  5. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  8. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  9. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  10. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  15. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  16. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  21. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. He was locked up in a ________________.
  24. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. rock — music
  2. fork — a garden tool
  3. club — a group
  4. rock — to move gently
  5. bat — in an idiom
  6. club — for dancing
  7. fork — in a road
  8. cell — in biology
  9. cell — a phone
  10. track — a path
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. chip — for betting
  13. club — for golf
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. bat — the animal
  16. chip — in a computer
  17. rock — a stone
  18. fork — to eat with
  19. track — to keep track
  20. chip — to eat
  21. track — a song
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. cell — in a prison
  24. mouse — the animal

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