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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  6. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.
  7. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  8. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  9. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  10. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  18. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  19. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  20. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  21. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  22. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  23. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  24. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. club — for golf
  4. club — for dancing
  5. perch — for a bird
  6. band — a rubber band
  7. band — a music group
  8. ground — the earth
  9. ground — crushed
  10. pit — a hole
  11. hand — help
  12. spring — of water
  13. pit — in a race
  14. ground — a position
  15. craft — boats
  16. club — a group
  17. craft — a skill
  18. perch — for a bird
  19. hand — in cards
  20. craft — a handicraft
  21. pit — a fruit stone
  22. perch — the fish
  23. band — a ring
  24. hand — part of the body

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