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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Have you settled on a ________________?
  4. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. My mare is ________________ in color.
  7. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  10. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  11. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  14. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  15. It's one o'clock ________________.
  16. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  17. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  18. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  19. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  20. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  21. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. club — for golf
  3. date — on the calendar
  4. field — farmland
  5. club — for dancing
  6. bay — a horse colour
  7. bay — to keep at bay
  8. field — for sport
  9. kid — child
  10. pass — to succeed
  11. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. date — on the calendar
  14. field — a subject
  15. sharp — exactly
  16. pass — to spend time
  17. sharp — clever
  18. sharp — with an edge
  19. date — the fruit
  20. pass — a permit
  21. kid — to tease
  22. club — a group
  23. spring — a coil
  24. spring — of water

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