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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. How do you ________________ your surname?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  5. My mare is ________________ in color.
  6. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  7. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  8. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  9. That was ________________ to happen.
  10. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  11. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  12. The sailing ship dropped anchor in the ________________.
  13. Close the lid of the trash can to keep odors and pests at ________________.
  14. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  15. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  16. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  17. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  18. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  19. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  20. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  21. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  22. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  23. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  24. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. spell — letters
  3. club — a group
  4. trunk — of an elephant
  5. bay — a horse colour
  6. staff — a stick
  7. bound — obliged
  8. club — for golf
  9. bound — certain
  10. rest — what's left
  11. staff — employees
  12. bay — a part of the sea
  13. bay — to keep at bay
  14. spell — a short time
  15. track — a path
  16. staff — employees
  17. track — to keep track
  18. track — a song
  19. bound — tied together
  20. trunk — of a car
  21. spell — magic
  22. rest — what's left
  23. rest — a break
  24. trunk — of a tree

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