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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  4. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  5. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  6. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  7. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.
  12. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  13. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  17. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  18. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  19. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  20. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  21. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  22. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  23. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. branch — a division
  4. ground — the earth
  5. rest — a break
  6. ground — crushed
  7. shower — to wash
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. stick — a piece of wood
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. branch — of a tree
  12. club — a group
  13. deal — a big deal
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. shower — rain
  16. deal — an agreement
  17. branch — of a bank
  18. rest — what's left
  19. stick — a piece of wood
  20. deal — to handle
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. stick — to attach or keep to
  23. rest — what's left
  24. ground — a position

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