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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. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  3. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  4. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  5. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  8. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  12. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  18. The ________________ took off on time.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. David sat on the ________________.
  21. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  22. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bear — to put up with
  3. net — after costs
  4. net — for catching
  5. straw — a straw man
  6. club — for dancing
  7. shower — rain
  8. fan — to cool the air
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. net — in sport
  11. bear — the animal
  12. straw — to clutch at straws
  13. club — a group
  14. swing — in golf
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. swing — music
  17. plane — in geometry
  18. plane — an aircraft
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. swing — to play on
  21. shower — a meteor shower
  22. plane — a tool
  23. shower — to wash
  24. bear — 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