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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. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. The tickets are free of ________________.
  7. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  8. It's one o'clock ________________.
  9. She's very handy with a ________________.
  10. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  11. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.
  12. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  13. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  14. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  15. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. He works in a ________________ mill.
  21. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  22. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. bank — of a river
  2. spring — a coil
  3. row — a line
  4. club — a group
  5. club — for dancing
  6. charge — a price
  7. file — a line of people
  8. sharp — exactly
  9. saw — the tool
  10. file — a tool
  11. file — a document
  12. row — a quarrel
  13. sharp — with an edge
  14. bank — for money
  15. row — to paddle
  16. spring — of water
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. bank — for money
  19. spring — the season
  20. saw — the tool
  21. charge — in control
  22. charge — electricity
  23. sharp — clever
  24. club — for golf

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