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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. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  6. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  11. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  12. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  13. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  14. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  15. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  16. Don't do anything ________________.
  17. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  18. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  19. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  20. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  21. False peace will not ________________.
  22. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  23. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  24. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. wind — moving air
  3. club — for dancing
  4. net — after costs
  5. rash — a series
  6. root — the cause
  7. net — in sport
  8. root — of a word
  9. spring — the season
  10. spring — of water
  11. club — a group
  12. net — for catching
  13. lean — to rest against
  14. last — finally
  15. club — for golf
  16. rash — hasty
  17. rash — on the skin
  18. lean — to bend
  19. root — of a plant
  20. lean — thin
  21. last — to go on
  22. wind — moving air
  23. wind — to turn a key
  24. last — final

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