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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: fan · club · roll · rule · lie · wound · pound · arm

  1. My father caught me by the ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  6. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  13. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  14. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  21. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  22. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  23. We're on a ________________ here.
  24. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?

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

Answer key

  1. arm — part of the body
  2. club — a group
  3. rule — a law
  4. club — for golf
  5. pound — for dogs
  6. lie — an untruth
  7. club — for dancing
  8. arm — a part of something
  9. pound — a weight
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. wound — an injury
  12. roll — a cake
  13. rule — government
  14. lie — to recline
  15. roll — a list
  16. pound — to hit hard
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. arm — part of the body
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. wound — past of 'wind'
  22. wound — an injury
  23. roll — on a roll
  24. fan — a supporter

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