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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. Have you met the new head ________________?
  7. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. It's one o'clock ________________.
  10. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  11. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  12. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  13. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  14. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  15. Check the label for the sugar ________________.
  16. TikTok makes it very easy to create ________________.
  17. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  18. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  19. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  20. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  21. She's very handy with a ________________.
  22. He works in a ________________ mill.
  23. Buy me a box of chocolates and I'll be ________________.
  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. club — for dancing
  2. coach — a trainer
  3. club — a group
  4. mine — belonging to me
  5. mine — for digging
  6. coach — a trainer
  7. sharp — with an edge
  8. spring — of water
  9. sharp — exactly
  10. spring — the season
  11. march — the month
  12. mine — an explosive
  13. march — music
  14. club — for golf
  15. content — the amount
  16. content — videos and posts
  17. march — the month
  18. coach — pulled by horses
  19. saw — past of 'see'
  20. sharp — clever
  21. saw — the tool
  22. saw — the tool
  23. content — happy
  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