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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. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  5. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  6. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  7. There's no middle ________________.
  8. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  9. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  10. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  11. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  12. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  13. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  14. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  15. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  16. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  17. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  18. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  19. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  20. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  21. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  22. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. Add some ________________ pepper to it.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. tear — from crying
  3. club — for dancing
  4. capital — a city
  5. squash — to crush
  6. ground — the earth
  7. ground — a position
  8. capital — money
  9. trunk — of a tree
  10. pass — a permit
  11. field — for sport
  12. squash — the vegetable
  13. field — farmland
  14. trunk — of an elephant
  15. pass — to spend time
  16. tear — from crying
  17. tear — to rip
  18. pass — to succeed
  19. trunk — of a car
  20. capital — a big letter
  21. squash — the sport
  22. field — a subject
  23. club — for golf
  24. ground — crushed

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