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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. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  2. Have you found your soul ________________?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. I was having a ________________ recording these guys.
  9. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  10. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  13. You don't need to ________________ round.
  14. What do you think of the new ________________?
  15. In all probability, the ________________ will fall.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. She took a metal box from the top of the kitchen ________________.
  18. The King held a masked ________________.
  19. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  20. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. The kitten curled into a ________________.
  23. We're almost out of ________________.
  24. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. file — a tool
  2. mate — a partner
  3. club — a group
  4. mate — to breed
  5. file — a document
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — the season
  8. ball — a great time
  9. wave — with your hand
  10. mate — a friend
  11. club — for golf
  12. wave — a sudden rise
  13. pop — to visit
  14. cabinet — ministers
  15. cabinet — ministers
  16. club — for dancing
  17. cabinet — a cupboard
  18. ball — a dance
  19. pop — music
  20. wave — of the sea
  21. spring — a coil
  22. ball — a round shape
  23. pop — soda
  24. file — a line of people

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