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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. Where did you ________________ them?
  2. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  3. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  6. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The ball is in your ________________.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  16. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  17. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  20. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. mug — to rob
  2. bat — in an idiom
  3. bat — the animal
  4. court — of law
  5. prune — the fruit
  6. mug — a cup
  7. drill — the tool
  8. prune — to trim
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. spring — a coil
  11. court — for sport
  12. prune — to trim
  13. court — of a king
  14. spring — the season
  15. bat — for baseball
  16. drill — a practice
  17. fan — to cool the air
  18. club — for dancing
  19. mug — a face
  20. drill — army training
  21. club — a group
  22. spring — of water
  23. fan — a supporter
  24. club — for golf

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