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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Have you settled on a ________________?
  3. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. That was ________________ to happen.
  11. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  12. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  13. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  16. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  17. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  18. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  19. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  20. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  21. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  22. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  23. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  24. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. date — on the calendar
  3. bound — tied together
  4. capital — a city
  5. bound — obliged
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. bat — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. club — for dancing
  10. bound — certain
  11. wave — of the sea
  12. present — a gift
  13. present — the time now
  14. club — a group
  15. capital — money
  16. wave — a sudden rise
  17. date — the fruit
  18. wake — a trail
  19. wave — with your hand
  20. wake — before a funeral
  21. present — there
  22. bat — for baseball
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. wake — to stop sleeping

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