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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  4. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  7. You don't need to ________________ round.
  8. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  9. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  10. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  11. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  12. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  13. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. The ________________ went through the wall.
  17. We're almost out of ________________.
  18. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  19. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  20. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  21. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. When are we going to ________________?
  24. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. spring — the season
  3. craft — a handicraft
  4. race — humankind
  5. club — for golf
  6. rule — a law
  7. pop — to visit
  8. nail — on a finger
  9. rule — government
  10. race — a contest
  11. race — the arms race
  12. spring — a coil
  13. craft — a skill
  14. pop — music
  15. spring — of water
  16. nail — for a hammer
  17. pop — soda
  18. land — a country
  19. rule — to rule out
  20. craft — boats
  21. nail — for a hammer
  22. club — a group
  23. land — to come down
  24. land — ground

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