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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: lash · club · bore · date · wind · cell · game · suit

  1. That was a fun ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  4. Have you settled on a ________________?
  5. When will it ________________ you to start?
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  12. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  13. Don't ________________ out at me just because you're upset.
  14. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  15. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  16. He felt the sting of the whip's ________________.
  17. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  18. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  19. He was locked up in a ________________.
  20. The spa offers ________________ extensions.
  21. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  22. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.

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

Answer key

  1. game — a match
  2. club — for golf
  3. wind — moving air
  4. date — on the calendar
  5. suit — to fit
  6. club — for dancing
  7. suit — in cards
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. bore — to tire
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. game — wild animals
  12. wind — to turn a key
  13. lash — to lash out
  14. date — the fruit
  15. bore — gave birth
  16. lash — a whip stroke
  17. suit — clothes
  18. cell — a phone
  19. cell — in a prison
  20. lash — an eyelash
  21. cell — in biology
  22. wind — moving air
  23. club — a group
  24. bore — to drill

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