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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 120 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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  3. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  6. When are we going to ________________?
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  10. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  11. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  12. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  16. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  19. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  22. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  23. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. capital — a big letter
  3. track — to keep track
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. drill — a practice
  6. land — to come down
  7. spring — of water
  8. spring — the season
  9. capital — money
  10. drill — army training
  11. land — a country
  12. foot — a measure
  13. capital — a city
  14. track — a path
  15. trunk — of a car
  16. land — ground
  17. drill — the tool
  18. foot — part of the body
  19. club — for dancing
  20. spring — a coil
  21. trunk — of an elephant
  22. track — a song
  23. club — a group
  24. foot — the bottom

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