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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  7. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  8. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  16. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  17. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  18. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  19. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  20. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  21. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  22. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  23. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  24. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. spell — a short time
  3. spring — of water
  4. root — the cause
  5. file — a document
  6. rock — music
  7. spell — magic
  8. pitch — completely
  9. spring — the season
  10. spell — letters
  11. rock — to move gently
  12. fall — to drop
  13. club — a group
  14. spring — a coil
  15. file — a tool
  16. file — a line of people
  17. rock — a stone
  18. root — of a word
  19. fall — to drop
  20. pitch — a sales talk
  21. club — for dancing
  22. pitch — a sports field
  23. root — of a plant
  24. fall — 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