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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. Professor Sir Peter Hirsch formerly held the ________________.
  3. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  4. Drying a ________________ is more honorable than shedding torrents of blood.
  5. He refilled his coffee ________________.
  6. Is that Pat Hanrahan's ________________ looking hungry and willing.
  7. James Baker serves as an Honorary Co-________________ for the World Justice Project.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  12. Where did you ________________ them?
  13. I cannot shed a ________________ for that horrible man.
  14. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  15. He spent years learning his ________________ as a carpenter.
  16. Flower arranging is a traditional ________________ in Japan.
  17. When are we going to ________________?
  18. I put the bag on or beside the ________________.
  19. Small ________________ should stay in the harbor during the storm.
  20. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  21. I'll be taking the ________________.
  22. I need a new inner ________________ for my bike tire.
  23. I want a large ________________ of toothpaste.
  24. It is only in accepting others that we can ________________ down our own barriers.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. chair — a professorship
  3. land — ground
  4. tear — from crying
  5. mug — a cup
  6. mug — a face
  7. chair — a leader
  8. spring — the season
  9. club — a group
  10. spring — a coil
  11. spring — of water
  12. mug — to rob
  13. tear — from crying
  14. land — a country
  15. craft — a skill
  16. craft — a handicraft
  17. land — to come down
  18. chair — to sit on
  19. craft — boats
  20. club — for golf
  21. tube — the underground
  22. tube — in a tire
  23. tube — a container
  24. tear — to rip

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