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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: club · mouse · march · chip · squash · date · cold · fine

  1. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  5. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  9. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  10. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  11. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  12. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  15. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  16. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  17. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  18. Have you settled on a ________________?
  19. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  20. The water is too ________________.
  21. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  22. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. march — the month
  2. club — for golf
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. march — the month
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. squash — the sport
  7. club — a group
  8. fine — all right
  9. chip — for betting
  10. date — the fruit
  11. mouse — for a computer
  12. fine — high quality
  13. march — music
  14. cold — the Cold War
  15. mouse — the animal
  16. squash — to crush
  17. cold — an illness
  18. date — on the calendar
  19. squash — the vegetable
  20. cold — not warm
  21. chip — to eat
  22. chip — in a computer
  23. club — for dancing
  24. date — on the calendar

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