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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  4. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  5. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  6. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  9. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  12. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  13. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  14. The King held a masked ________________.
  15. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  16. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  17. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  18. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  21. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  22. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  23. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  24. You can't go backstage without a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. club — for golf
  3. wake — a trail
  4. kid — to tease
  5. ball — a round shape
  6. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  7. club — a group
  8. pass — to succeed
  9. pass — to spend time
  10. club — for dancing
  11. hand — help
  12. spring — of water
  13. hand — in cards
  14. ball — a dance
  15. kid — child
  16. shower — a meteor shower
  17. shower — rain
  18. wake — before a funeral
  19. spring — the season
  20. hand — part of the body
  21. shower — to wash
  22. wake — to stop sleeping
  23. ball — a great time
  24. pass — a permit

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