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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 haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  3. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  9. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  10. The owl hooted softly from its ________________.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  13. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  14. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  15. We're almost out of ________________.
  16. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.
  17. The birds use the scarecrow as a ________________.
  18. ________________ is common in the lakes of Sweden.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. You don't need to ________________ round.
  22. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. racket — for tennis
  3. racket — a loud noise
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. spring — a coil
  6. field — farmland
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. field — for sport
  9. vault — in gymnastics
  10. perch — for a bird
  11. club — for golf
  12. vault — a safe
  13. nail — for a hammer
  14. nail — on a finger
  15. pop — soda
  16. field — a subject
  17. perch — for a bird
  18. perch — the fish
  19. spring — the season
  20. club — a group
  21. pop — to visit
  22. racket — for tennis
  23. spring — of water
  24. pop — music

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