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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. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. My father caught me by the ________________.
  4. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  5. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.
  6. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  9. How do you ________________ your surname?
  10. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  11. That was ________________ to happen.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  14. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  15. David sat on the ________________.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  19. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  22. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  23. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  24. Beijing is the ________________ of China.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — the season
  2. club — for golf
  3. arm — part of the body
  4. club — a group
  5. arm — part of the body
  6. swing — in golf
  7. spell — a short time
  8. capital — a big letter
  9. spell — letters
  10. bound — tied together
  11. bound — certain
  12. march — the month
  13. swing — music
  14. bound — obliged
  15. swing — to play on
  16. march — the month
  17. spell — magic
  18. spring — a coil
  19. march — music
  20. club — for dancing
  21. arm — a part of something
  22. capital — money
  23. spring — of water
  24. capital — a city

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