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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. Did you ________________ the meat?
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  4. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. We're on a ________________ here.
  7. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  8. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  9. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  10. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  11. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  15. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  16. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  17. Have you met the new head ________________?
  18. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  19. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  20. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  21. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  22. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  23. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  24. We took cover from the thunder ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. season — to add flavour
  2. club — a group
  3. roll — a list
  4. bear — to put up with
  5. club — for dancing
  6. roll — on a roll
  7. shower — a meteor shower
  8. wax — to grow
  9. bear — the animal
  10. season — in sport
  11. coach — pulled by horses
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. club — for golf
  14. bear — the animal
  15. roll — a cake
  16. coach — a trainer
  17. coach — a trainer
  18. mine — for digging
  19. wax — in the ear
  20. mine — belonging to me
  21. season — of the year
  22. mine — an explosive
  23. shower — to wash
  24. shower — rain

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