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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.

Make a worksheet

Students read each sentence and write the missing word. Every word appears in several sentences, each time with a different meaning.

Words on the sheet
468
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: mine · club · wind · scale · date · net · spell · chair

  1. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  5. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  6. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  7. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  14. How do you ________________ your surname?
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  19. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Have you settled on a ________________?
  24. The ball hit the back of the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. chair — to sit on
  2. wind — moving air
  3. club — for golf
  4. chair — a professorship
  5. date — on the calendar
  6. scale — size or range
  7. mine — for digging
  8. club — for dancing
  9. date — the fruit
  10. chair — a leader
  11. net — for catching
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. spell — a short time
  14. spell — letters
  15. club — a group
  16. scale — for weighing
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. mine — belonging to me
  19. scale — in music
  20. wind — moving air
  21. spell — magic
  22. net — after costs
  23. date — on the calendar
  24. net — in sport

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