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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. It's one o'clock ________________.
  7. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  8. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  9. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  10. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  11. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  12. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  13. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  16. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  17. How do you ________________ your surname?
  18. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  19. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  20. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  21. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. The old man leaned on his ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. club — for golf
  3. staff — employees
  4. spring — a coil
  5. club — for dancing
  6. sharp — exactly
  7. staff — employees
  8. spell — a short time
  9. pound — a weight
  10. pound — for dogs
  11. pound — to hit hard
  12. spell — magic
  13. bowl — a dish
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. spring — the season
  16. wound — past of 'wind'
  17. spell — letters
  18. bowl — a football final
  19. sharp — with an edge
  20. wound — an injury
  21. wound — an injury
  22. club — a group
  23. sharp — clever
  24. staff — a stick

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