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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The King held a masked ________________.
  8. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  9. I'll be taking the ________________.
  10. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  11. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  17. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  18. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  19. David sat on the ________________.
  20. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  21. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  22. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. ball — a great time
  3. spring — a coil
  4. club — for golf
  5. scale — for weighing
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. ball — a dance
  8. ball — a round shape
  9. tube — the underground
  10. tube — a container
  11. prune — to trim
  12. club — for dancing
  13. swing — music
  14. swing — in golf
  15. club — a group
  16. prune — the fruit
  17. pitcher — a jug
  18. scale — size or range
  19. swing — to play on
  20. tube — in a tire
  21. pitcher — a jug
  22. prune — to trim
  23. scale — in 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