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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. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  3. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  6. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  7. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. We were using a ________________ as a seat.
  11. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  12. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  13. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  20. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  21. I don't want to ________________ the boat.
  22. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  23. Which do you like better, ________________ music or classical music?
  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 — for dancing
  2. fan — a supporter
  3. can — to be able to
  4. spring — a coil
  5. shower — rain
  6. can — a tin
  7. can — a tin
  8. club — for golf
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. rock — a stone
  11. shower — to wash
  12. scale — for weighing
  13. fan — to cool the air
  14. scale — size or range
  15. net — in sport
  16. club — a group
  17. scale — in music
  18. spring — of water
  19. fan — a supporter
  20. net — for catching
  21. rock — to move gently
  22. net — after costs
  23. rock — music
  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