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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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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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  5. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. That must've been a ________________.
  9. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  10. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  13. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  14. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  15. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  16. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  20. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  21. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  24. Take your time. There's no ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. march — the month
  3. club — for golf
  4. sharp — with an edge
  5. chest — of your body
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. spring — the season
  8. rush — a thrill
  9. mine — belonging to me
  10. fan — a supporter
  11. spring — a coil
  12. march — music
  13. rush — to hurry
  14. chest — of your body
  15. fan — a supporter
  16. chest — a box
  17. club — a group
  18. club — for dancing
  19. sharp — clever
  20. fan — to cool the air
  21. march — the month
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. mine — for digging
  24. rush — hurry

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