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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. Vegetables are growing on this ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The stadium has a track around the football ________________.
  10. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  11. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  12. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  13. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  14. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. That was ________________ to happen.
  21. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  22. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  23. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  24. She's an expert in the ________________ of medicine.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. lean — to bend
  3. club — for golf
  4. lean — to rest against
  5. spring — the season
  6. spring — a coil
  7. field — farmland
  8. club — for dancing
  9. field — for sport
  10. chip — in a computer
  11. bound — obliged
  12. chip — for betting
  13. chip — to eat
  14. drill — army training
  15. present — the time now
  16. lean — thin
  17. drill — the tool
  18. spring — of water
  19. drill — a practice
  20. bound — certain
  21. present — a gift
  22. present — there
  23. bound — tied together
  24. field — a subject

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