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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  3. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  6. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. Today is the ________________ day of the holidays. Back to school tomorrow!
  9. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  10. At ________________, we arrived at the village.
  11. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.
  12. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  13. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  14. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  15. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  18. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  21. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  22. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  23. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  24. False peace will not ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. game — a kind of play
  3. tear — from crying
  4. club — for dancing
  5. pitch — a sales talk
  6. pitch — a sports field
  7. game — a match
  8. last — final
  9. racket — for tennis
  10. last — finally
  11. tear — to rip
  12. spring — the season
  13. racket — a loud noise
  14. pitch — completely
  15. tear — from crying
  16. net — for catching
  17. spring — a coil
  18. net — in sport
  19. club — for golf
  20. racket — for tennis
  21. net — after costs
  22. club — a group
  23. game — wild animals
  24. last — to go on

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