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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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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

  1. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. There's no middle ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. Did you ________________ the button?
  9. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  10. The function of the ________________ is to provide the common people with facts.
  11. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  12. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  13. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. Manchester University ________________ is the university's academic publishing house.
  17. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. scale — for weighing
  2. club — a group
  3. ground — crushed
  4. club — for golf
  5. ground — a position
  6. club — for dancing
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. press — to push
  9. straw — to clutch at straws
  10. press — newspapers
  11. straw — dry grass
  12. scale — in music
  13. ground — the earth
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spring — of water
  16. press — a publisher
  17. scale — size or range
  18. spring — the season

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