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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Part of that ________________ required him to leave the singing group.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  9. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  10. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  11. The ________________ went through the wall.
  12. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  15. Don't make such a big ________________ out of small things.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  19. We need to ________________ with this problem right now.
  20. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. deal — an agreement
  3. club — a group
  4. wind — moving air
  5. present — the time now
  6. club — for golf
  7. spring — a coil
  8. track — to keep track
  9. track — a song
  10. nail — on a finger
  11. nail — for a hammer
  12. branch — a division
  13. spring — the season
  14. spring — of water
  15. deal — a big deal
  16. track — a path
  17. wind — moving air
  18. nail — for a hammer
  19. deal — to handle
  20. wind — to turn a key
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — there
  23. branch — of a bank
  24. branch — of a tree

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