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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  4. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  8. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  9. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  10. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  13. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  14. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The ball is in your ________________.
  17. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  18. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  19. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  22. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. I assure you, everything's ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. club — a group
  3. row — a quarrel
  4. prune — the fruit
  5. club — for dancing
  6. spring — of water
  7. prune — to trim
  8. fine — a penalty
  9. cold — the Cold War
  10. deal — to handle
  11. fine — high quality
  12. row — to paddle
  13. deal — an agreement
  14. prune — to trim
  15. cold — not warm
  16. court — for sport
  17. row — a line
  18. deal — a big deal
  19. court — of law
  20. spring — the season
  21. court — of a king
  22. cold — an illness
  23. club — for golf
  24. fine — all right

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