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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Where did you ________________ them?
  3. He's the lead singer in a rock ________________.
  4. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  8. She ________________ him three sons and a daughter.
  9. Doesn't taking care of babies ________________ you?
  10. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  11. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Use a drill to ________________ a hole in the wall.
  14. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.
  17. He still wears his gold wedding ________________.
  18. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  19. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  20. The ball is in your ________________.
  21. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  22. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  23. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  24. He put a rubber ________________ around the bundle of letters.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. mug — to rob
  3. band — a music group
  4. wound — past of 'wind'
  5. mug — a cup
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — a coil
  8. bore — gave birth
  9. bore — to tire
  10. mug — a face
  11. club — for golf
  12. court — of a king
  13. bore — to drill
  14. wound — an injury
  15. club — for dancing
  16. wave — of the sea
  17. band — a ring
  18. spring — of water
  19. wound — an injury
  20. court — for sport
  21. wave — with your hand
  22. wave — a sudden rise
  23. court — of law
  24. band — a rubber band

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