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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 116 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: charge · kid · club · ground · season · row · drill · swing

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  5. The tickets are free of ________________.
  6. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  7. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  8. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  13. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  14. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  15. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  16. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  17. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  18. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  19. Did you ________________ the meat?
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. David sat on the ________________.
  22. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  23. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  24. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. swing — in golf
  3. club — a group
  4. drill — the tool
  5. charge — a price
  6. row — a line
  7. kid — to tease
  8. drill — a practice
  9. ground — a position
  10. ground — crushed
  11. ground — the earth
  12. drill — army training
  13. row — a quarrel
  14. charge — electricity
  15. season — of the year
  16. swing — music
  17. charge — in control
  18. row — to paddle
  19. season — to add flavour
  20. club — for dancing
  21. swing — to play on
  22. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  23. season — in sport
  24. kid — child

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