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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  4. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. In my city, the temperature is one ________________ above zero.
  7. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  10. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  11. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  12. To what ________________ are you interested in baseball?
  13. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. A university ________________ is the ticket to a successful career.
  16. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  20. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  21. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  22. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. club — a group
  3. fine — a penalty
  4. dip — to dunk
  5. fine — all right
  6. degree — temperature
  7. scale — size or range
  8. drill — army training
  9. drill — a practice
  10. dip — to sink
  11. fine — high quality
  12. degree — an amount
  13. snap — to speak sharply
  14. spring — of water
  15. degree — from a university
  16. drill — the tool
  17. spring — a coil
  18. spring — the season
  19. snap — to snap out of it
  20. snap — to click
  21. dip — a sauce
  22. scale — for weighing
  23. scale — in music
  24. club — for golf

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