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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  3. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. That was ________________ to happen.
  6. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  7. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  8. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. Can you put the ________________ back on the pen?
  14. There's no middle ________________.
  15. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. It's best to wear a ________________ on your head during the cold Moscow winters.
  20. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  21. The polar ice ________________ is melting.
  22. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  23. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  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. club — for dancing
  2. bound — obliged
  3. patient — a sick person
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. bound — certain
  6. pitch — a sales talk
  7. pitch — completely
  8. ground — crushed
  9. spring — the season
  10. bound — tied together
  11. ground — the earth
  12. club — for golf
  13. cap — a lid
  14. ground — a position
  15. patient — a sick person
  16. club — a group
  17. trunk — of an elephant
  18. spring — a coil
  19. cap — a hat
  20. pitch — a sports field
  21. cap — of ice
  22. patient — calm and waiting
  23. trunk — of a car
  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