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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 124 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. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  3. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  4. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  5. He had ________________ pain while walking.
  6. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  7. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  8. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  9. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  10. When are we going to ________________?
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  13. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  14. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  17. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  18. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  19. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  22. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  23. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  24. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. fall — to drop
  3. fall — to drop
  4. wave — with your hand
  5. calf — of the leg
  6. wave — of the sea
  7. file — a document
  8. bass — the instrument
  9. wave — a sudden rise
  10. land — to come down
  11. bass — the fish
  12. file — a line of people
  13. capital — a big letter
  14. fall — the season
  15. land — a country
  16. bass — low music
  17. file — a tool
  18. capital — a city
  19. calf — a young animal
  20. club — for golf
  21. capital — money
  22. calf — a young animal
  23. land — ground
  24. club — for dancing

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