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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. In the ________________, covers are put over the fans in trains.
  3. A ________________ is a sweet brown fruit from a palm tree.
  4. The ________________ went through the wall.
  5. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  8. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  9. Have you settled on a ________________?
  10. Why do cosmetics have an expiration ________________?
  11. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  12. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  16. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  19. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. My stomach aches so much that I can't ________________ asleep.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  24. He who climbs up, will ________________ down.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. fall — the season
  3. date — the fruit
  4. nail — for a hammer
  5. club — for dancing
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. drill — army training
  8. bat — for baseball
  9. date — on the calendar
  10. date — on the calendar
  11. dip — to sink
  12. club — for golf
  13. spring — the season
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. bat — in an idiom
  16. dip — a sauce
  17. drill — the tool
  18. nail — on a finger
  19. drill — a practice
  20. spring — a coil
  21. fall — to drop
  22. spring — of water
  23. bat — the animal
  24. fall — to drop

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