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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  5. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  6. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  12. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  15. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  16. I'll be taking the ________________.
  17. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  18. That was ________________ to happen.
  19. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  22. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  23. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  24. We are ________________ to obey laws.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. tube — in a tire
  3. spring — of water
  4. wind — to turn a key
  5. shower — a meteor shower
  6. club — for golf
  7. spring — the season
  8. club — for dancing
  9. fan — a supporter
  10. wind — moving air
  11. fan — a supporter
  12. shower — to wash
  13. bear — the animal
  14. tube — a container
  15. bound — tied together
  16. tube — the underground
  17. wind — moving air
  18. bound — certain
  19. shower — rain
  20. spring — a coil
  21. bear — to put up with
  22. fan — to cool the air
  23. bear — the animal
  24. bound — obliged

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