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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. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  2. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  3. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  4. We're almost out of ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. The ________________ went through the wall.
  7. The water is too ________________.
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  11. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  12. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  13. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  14. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  15. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  16. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  17. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  18. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  19. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  20. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  23. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. fine — high quality
  2. cold — the Cold War
  3. chair — a professorship
  4. pop — soda
  5. club — for golf
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. cold — not warm
  8. club — a group
  9. club — for dancing
  10. can — to be able to
  11. wound — past of 'wind'
  12. chair — a leader
  13. can — a tin
  14. wound — an injury
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. can — a tin
  17. nail — on a finger
  18. pop — music
  19. fine — a penalty
  20. cold — an illness
  21. pop — to visit
  22. chair — to sit on
  23. wound — an injury
  24. fine — all right

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