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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  3. The sergeant loved to ________________ orders at us.
  4. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  5. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  6. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  7. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  8. Birch trees have smooth white ________________.
  9. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  10. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  11. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  12. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  13. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  14. When are we going to ________________?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  17. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  18. Our dog starts to ________________ whenever the doorbell rings.
  19. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  20. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  21. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  22. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  23. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. file — a line of people
  3. bark — to shout
  4. squash — the sport
  5. board — a flat piece
  6. chest — of your body
  7. file — a tool
  8. bark — of a tree
  9. cap — a hat
  10. land — ground
  11. cap — of ice
  12. chest — of your body
  13. squash — to crush
  14. land — to come down
  15. club — a group
  16. board — to get on
  17. board — a committee
  18. bark — a dog's sound
  19. land — a country
  20. squash — the vegetable
  21. file — a document
  22. chest — a box
  23. cap — a lid
  24. club — for dancing

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