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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: ground · club · ball · snap · game · fan · file · bay

  1. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  2. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  3. The King held a masked ________________.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  9. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  10. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  11. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  12. There's no middle ________________.
  13. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  14. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  15. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  16. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  17. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  18. My mare is ________________ in color.
  19. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  22. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. ball — a round shape
  2. snap — to click
  3. ball — a dance
  4. club — for golf
  5. file — a line of people
  6. club — for dancing
  7. game — a match
  8. file — a document
  9. ball — a great time
  10. snap — to speak sharply
  11. snap — to snap out of it
  12. ground — a position
  13. ground — crushed
  14. file — a tool
  15. bay — to keep at bay
  16. bay — a part of the sea
  17. game — a kind of play
  18. bay — a horse colour
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. game — wild animals
  22. ground — the earth
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. club — a group

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