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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 124 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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  5. I assure you, everything's ________________.
  6. Would you like some apricot ________________?
  7. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  8. This shop sells ________________ wines and cheeses.
  9. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  10. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The bus was late because of the traffic ________________.
  13. I got a ________________ for parking in the wrong place.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. Tom got himself in a ________________.
  19. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. The elephant has a huge ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — of water
  4. scale — size or range
  5. fine — all right
  6. jam — to spread on bread
  7. hand — in cards
  8. fine — high quality
  9. hand — part of the body
  10. scale — for weighing
  11. hand — help
  12. jam — in traffic
  13. fine — a penalty
  14. club — for golf
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. track — a path
  17. track — a song
  18. jam — a tight spot
  19. track — to keep track
  20. club — for dancing
  21. trunk — of a tree
  22. club — a group
  23. scale — in music
  24. trunk — of an elephant

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