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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 from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: bat · nail · mate · stick · swing · fork · club · land

  1. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  7. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  10. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Have you found your soul ________________?
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  17. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  18. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  19. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  20. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  23. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  24. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a friend
  2. club — for golf
  3. land — to come down
  4. bat — the animal
  5. club — for dancing
  6. fork — to eat with
  7. land — ground
  8. land — a country
  9. swing — in golf
  10. fork — a garden tool
  11. club — a group
  12. stick — to attach or keep to
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. mate — a partner
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. stick — a piece of wood
  17. fork — in a road
  18. mate — to breed
  19. swing — music
  20. bat — for baseball
  21. swing — to play on
  22. nail — on a finger
  23. stick — a piece of wood
  24. nail — for a hammer

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