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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. We're almost out of ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  8. The potato ________________ was salty and crunchy.
  9. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  10. Take your time. There's no ________________.
  11. There's a computer ________________ on the table.
  12. You shouldn't ________________ things.
  13. Algeria has become a bargaining ________________ in a global game of poker.
  14. Tom opened a ________________ of soup.
  15. Recycle the empty soda ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. That must've been a ________________.
  20. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  21. ________________ you help me carry this box?
  22. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.

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

Answer key

  1. pop — soda
  2. spring — of water
  3. club — for dancing
  4. spring — the season
  5. scale — size or range
  6. club — a group
  7. scale — for weighing
  8. chip — to eat
  9. bat — for baseball
  10. rush — hurry
  11. chip — in a computer
  12. rush — to hurry
  13. chip — for betting
  14. can — a tin
  15. can — a tin
  16. club — for golf
  17. bat — in an idiom
  18. pop — to visit
  19. rush — a thrill
  20. scale — in music
  21. can — to be able to
  22. bat — the animal
  23. spring — a coil
  24. pop — music

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