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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: bulb · rash · season · club · chest · ground · mug · row

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  5. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  6. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  7. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  8. I've got to change the light ________________.
  9. The light ________________ burned out.
  10. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  11. Don't do anything ________________.
  12. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  13. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  14. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  15. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  16. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  17. Where did you ________________ them?
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  21. There's no middle ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  24. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — for golf
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. chest — a box
  5. row — a line
  6. rash — a series
  7. season — of the year
  8. bulb — for light
  9. bulb — for light
  10. chest — of your body
  11. rash — hasty
  12. ground — the earth
  13. rash — on the skin
  14. club — a group
  15. mug — a cup
  16. season — in sport
  17. mug — to rob
  18. row — to paddle
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. chest — of your body
  21. ground — a position
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. ground — crushed
  24. mug — a face

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