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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I had a bad ________________ and was in bed for a week.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Its rival in the ________________ War, the Soviet Union, exploited this at the time.
  13. When will it ________________ you to start?
  14. The giraffe did all she could to defend her ________________.
  15. The water is too ________________.
  16. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. That was a fun ________________.
  19. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. The giraffe protected her ________________ with great courage.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. David sat on the ________________.
  24. He had ________________ pain while walking.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. cold — an illness
  3. spring — of water
  4. suit — clothes
  5. club — a group
  6. staff — a stick
  7. staff — employees
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. suit — in cards
  10. club — for golf
  11. spring — the season
  12. cold — the Cold War
  13. suit — to fit
  14. calf — a young animal
  15. cold — not warm
  16. swing — in golf
  17. game — wild animals
  18. game — a match
  19. staff — employees
  20. swing — music
  21. calf — a young animal
  22. spring — a coil
  23. swing — to play on
  24. calf — of the leg

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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