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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. We're on a ________________ here.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  6. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.
  7. She had a strange look on her ________________.
  8. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  9. Sooner or later you'll have to ________________ the truth.
  10. Our bedroom windows ________________ the sea.
  11. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  12. Hard work is the ________________ to success.
  13. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  14. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  15. This piece is in a major ________________.
  16. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  17. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  18. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  19. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  20. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  21. Are you the only one who has a ________________ to this door?
  22. The ________________ went through the wall.
  23. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  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 golf
  2. club — a group
  3. roll — on a roll
  4. spring — of water
  5. mine — for digging
  6. nail — on a finger
  7. face — part of the head
  8. scale — size or range
  9. face — to confront
  10. face — to point toward
  11. scale — in music
  12. key — the most important part
  13. mine — belonging to me
  14. nail — for a hammer
  15. key — in music
  16. spring — the season
  17. scale — for weighing
  18. club — for dancing
  19. roll — a cake
  20. mine — an explosive
  21. key — for a lock
  22. nail — for a hammer
  23. roll — a list
  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