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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 120 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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  3. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  4. ________________ out of it! You haven't done a thing all week.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  7. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  8. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  11. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  12. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  13. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  14. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  19. You don't have to ________________ at me like that.
  20. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  21. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  22. When I ________________ my fingers, you'll wake up.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. trunk — of a car
  3. perch — the fish
  4. snap — to snap out of it
  5. club — for golf
  6. stick — a piece of wood
  7. pitch — a sales talk
  8. perch — for a bird
  9. club — a group
  10. pound — to hit hard
  11. pound — a weight
  12. stick — a piece of wood
  13. trunk — of an elephant
  14. pitch — a sports field
  15. spring — a coil
  16. perch — for a bird
  17. spring — of water
  18. trunk — of a tree
  19. snap — to speak sharply
  20. pound — for dogs
  21. pitch — completely
  22. snap — to click
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  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