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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  4. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  5. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  6. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. When I cough twice, that's your ________________ to come into the room.
  11. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  14. I'll take my ________________ from you.
  15. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  16. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  17. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  18. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  19. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ went through the wall.
  22. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  23. You can't play pool without a ________________ stick.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. spring — a coil
  3. straw — to clutch at straws
  4. snap — to speak sharply
  5. nail — on a finger
  6. snap — to click
  7. spring — of water
  8. nail — for a hammer
  9. spring — the season
  10. cue — a signal
  11. band — a ring
  12. club — for golf
  13. club — for dancing
  14. cue — a hint
  15. prune — to trim
  16. prune — to trim
  17. prune — the fruit
  18. band — a music group
  19. straw — dry grass
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. snap — to snap out of it
  23. cue — for pool
  24. band — a rubber band

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