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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  4. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  5. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.
  8. How do you ________________ your surname?
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  14. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  15. The ________________ went through the wall.
  16. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  17. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  20. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  23. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  24. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.

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. chest — of your body
  4. scale — in music
  5. present — there
  6. present — a gift
  7. chest — of your body
  8. spell — letters
  9. wind — moving air
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. spring — the season
  12. spring — of water
  13. scale — size or range
  14. spell — magic
  15. nail — for a hammer
  16. present — the time now
  17. nail — for a hammer
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. chest — a box
  20. wind — moving air
  21. club — for golf
  22. wind — to turn a key
  23. club — for dancing
  24. spell — a short time

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