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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 120 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. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  7. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  10. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  13. The ________________ went through the wall.
  14. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.

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

Answer key

  1. nail — for a hammer
  2. club — a group
  3. spring — of water
  4. chair — a leader
  5. club — for dancing
  6. chair — to sit on
  7. nail — on a finger
  8. spring — the season
  9. fork — a garden tool
  10. fork — to eat with
  11. club — for golf
  12. pitcher — a jug
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. pitcher — a jug
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. chair — a professorship
  17. spring — a coil
  18. fork — in a road

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