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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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Word bank
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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: wake · game · club · mine · bear · press · ground · rock

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  3. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  4. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  7. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  8. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  9. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  10. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  11. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  12. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  13. Did you ________________ the button?
  14. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  15. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  16. That was a fun ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  20. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  23. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  24. There's no middle ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. rock — music
  3. ground — the earth
  4. mine — an explosive
  5. club — for dancing
  6. rock — a stone
  7. bear — to put up with
  8. mine — belonging to me
  9. press — a publisher
  10. bear — the animal
  11. ground — crushed
  12. wake — to stop sleeping
  13. press — to push
  14. wake — before a funeral
  15. bear — the animal
  16. game — a match
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. mine — for digging
  19. club — a group
  20. game — wild animals
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. wake — a trail
  23. press — newspapers
  24. ground — a position

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