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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. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. We've got to handle this with ________________ gloves.
  4. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  5. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  10. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  15. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  16. I had chicken pox when I was a ________________.
  17. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  18. Don't ________________ yourself. You couldn't afford to buy a house like this.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  21. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  22. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  23. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  24. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. bowl — a football final
  2. club — for golf
  3. kid — young goat (kid gloves)
  4. stem — a stem cell
  5. staff — a stick
  6. spring — of water
  7. spring — the season
  8. club — for dancing
  9. stem — of a plant
  10. bowl — to roll
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. stem — to come from
  13. club — a group
  14. drill — the tool
  15. staff — employees
  16. kid — child
  17. staff — employees
  18. kid — to tease
  19. drill — a practice
  20. rule — a law
  21. rule — to rule out
  22. drill — army training
  23. rule — government
  24. spring — a coil

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