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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 116 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. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  5. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  8. That was ________________ to happen.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  11. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  12. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  13. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  14. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  15. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  16. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  22. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  23. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  24. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. tear — from crying
  3. club — for golf
  4. net — after costs
  5. net — for catching
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. pitcher — a jug
  8. bound — certain
  9. club — for dancing
  10. scale — size or range
  11. scale — for weighing
  12. race — a contest
  13. bound — obliged
  14. bound — tied together
  15. tear — to rip
  16. race — the arms race
  17. spring — of water
  18. pitcher — a jug
  19. spring — the season
  20. spring — a coil
  21. net — in sport
  22. race — humankind
  23. scale — in music
  24. tear — from crying

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