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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. Have you found your soul ________________?
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  6. Positive actions can inspire others to follow ________________.
  7. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  10. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. Vegetables slowly ________________ towards the light.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. Don't ________________ against the wall. It's just been painted.
  15. When will it ________________ you to start?
  16. He works in a ________________ mill.
  17. She's very handy with a ________________.
  18. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  19. He is as ________________ as a wolf.
  20. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  21. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  22. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  23. The cuffs of his ________________ jacket are badly frayed.
  24. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.

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

Answer key

  1. mate — a partner
  2. club — for golf
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — a group
  5. wind — moving air
  6. suit — in cards
  7. vault — an arched ceiling
  8. spring — of water
  9. mate — to breed
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spring — the season
  12. lean — to bend
  13. spring — a coil
  14. lean — to rest against
  15. suit — to fit
  16. saw — the tool
  17. saw — the tool
  18. vault — in gymnastics
  19. lean — thin
  20. mate — a friend
  21. saw — past of 'see'
  22. vault — a safe
  23. suit — clothes
  24. wind — to turn a key

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