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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  4. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  7. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  8. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  11. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  12. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  13. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  14. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  17. He is an ace ________________.
  18. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  21. That was a fun ________________.
  22. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  23. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. stick — to attach or keep to
  4. game — wild animals
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. pitcher — a jug
  7. stick — a piece of wood
  8. game — a kind of play
  9. pass — a permit
  10. chair — a leader
  11. spring — a coil
  12. chair — to sit on
  13. tear — from crying
  14. tear — from crying
  15. spring — of water
  16. pitcher — a jug
  17. pitcher — in baseball
  18. stick — a piece of wood
  19. club — for dancing
  20. tear — to rip
  21. game — a match
  22. pass — to spend time
  23. club — for golf
  24. spring — 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