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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  4. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  5. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  8. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  11. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  12. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  13. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  19. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  22. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. club — for dancing
  3. dip — to dunk
  4. field — for sport
  5. stick — to attach or keep to
  6. swing — in golf
  7. capital — a city
  8. wound — past of 'wind'
  9. capital — money
  10. stick — a piece of wood
  11. racket — a loud noise
  12. capital — a big letter
  13. wound — an injury
  14. field — a subject
  15. racket — for tennis
  16. club — for golf
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. dip — a sauce
  19. racket — for tennis
  20. swing — music
  21. field — farmland
  22. wound — an injury
  23. swing — to play on
  24. dip — to sink

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