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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. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  2. Jeff had to ________________ the pavement for three months before he found a job.
  3. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  4. David sat on the ________________.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  8. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  9. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  10. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  11. I'll be taking the ________________.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. The ball is in your ________________.
  14. My mare is ________________ in color.
  15. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Rodrigo's family went to the dog ________________ to adopt a dog.
  18. When are we going to ________________?
  19. A ________________ is equal to sixteen ounces.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  22. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  23. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  24. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. land — ground
  2. pound — to hit hard
  3. bay — to keep at bay
  4. swing — to play on
  5. club — a group
  6. spring — the season
  7. swing — music
  8. land — a country
  9. tube — in a tire
  10. court — of law
  11. tube — the underground
  12. club — for dancing
  13. court — for sport
  14. bay — a horse colour
  15. tube — a container
  16. club — for golf
  17. pound — for dogs
  18. land — to come down
  19. pound — a weight
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — of water
  22. swing — in golf
  23. court — of a king
  24. bay — a part of the sea

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