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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. She's very handy with a ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. That was a fun ________________.
  4. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  7. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  8. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  9. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  10. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  14. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  15. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  18. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  19. He works in a ________________ mill.
  20. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  21. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  24. He hit the ball with his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. saw — the tool
  2. club — for golf
  3. game — a match
  4. racket — a loud noise
  5. club — a group
  6. pit — a fruit stone
  7. tube — in a tire
  8. saw — past of 'see'
  9. march — the month
  10. fall — to drop
  11. tube — the underground
  12. march — music
  13. pit — a hole
  14. club — for dancing
  15. fall — to drop
  16. march — the month
  17. tube — a container
  18. game — wild animals
  19. saw — the tool
  20. game — a kind of play
  21. fall — the season
  22. pit — in a race
  23. racket — for tennis
  24. racket — for tennis

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