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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. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  2. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  6. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  7. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  11. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  12. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  13. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  14. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  15. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  18. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  19. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  20. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  23. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  24. There's a computer ________________ on the table.

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

Answer key

  1. kick — in football
  2. rash — on the skin
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — for golf
  5. march — the month
  6. wax — for sculpting
  7. rash — a series
  8. chip — to eat
  9. chip — for betting
  10. kick — a thrill
  11. file — a line of people
  12. cap — a hat
  13. kick — with a leg
  14. file — a document
  15. wax — in the ear
  16. club — a group
  17. march — music
  18. cap — a lid
  19. wax — to grow
  20. file — a tool
  21. rash — hasty
  22. cap — of ice
  23. march — the month
  24. chip — in a computer

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