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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. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  5. We're almost out of ________________.
  6. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  7. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  11. It's one o'clock ________________.
  12. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  13. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  14. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  15. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  16. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  17. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.
  18. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  19. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  23. You don't need to ________________ round.
  24. This knife is not ________________ enough.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. spring — a coil
  3. spring — the season
  4. fall — the season
  5. pop — soda
  6. object — an aim
  7. object — a thing
  8. sharp — clever
  9. club — for dancing
  10. wax — in the ear
  11. sharp — exactly
  12. fall — to drop
  13. straw — dry grass
  14. pop — music
  15. straw — to clutch at straws
  16. straw — a straw man
  17. fall — to drop
  18. wax — to grow
  19. object — to protest
  20. spring — of water
  21. club — for golf
  22. wax — for sculpting
  23. pop — to visit
  24. sharp — with an edge

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