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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. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  2. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  7. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  8. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  9. There's no middle ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  12. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  13. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  14. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  20. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  21. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  22. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  23. That was ________________ to happen.
  24. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.

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

Answer key

  1. mine — for digging
  2. mine — belonging to me
  3. club — for dancing
  4. club — for golf
  5. land — to come down
  6. leaves — of a tree
  7. club — a group
  8. leaves — lets stay
  9. ground — a position
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. leaves — to go away
  12. bound — obliged
  13. land — ground
  14. ground — the earth
  15. land — a country
  16. spring — a coil
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. foot — a measure
  20. bound — tied together
  21. ground — crushed
  22. foot — part of the body
  23. bound — certain
  24. foot — the bottom

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