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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. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  2. Because of the accident, he'll have a limp for the ________________ of his life.
  3. We usually eat with a knife, ________________ and spoon.
  4. We came to a ________________ in the road and had no idea which direction to go.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  8. We're almost out of ________________.
  9. I would like to have a ________________ here.
  10. How do you ________________ your surname?
  11. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  14. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  15. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  16. Use a garden ________________ to turn the soil.
  17. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  18. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  19. You don't need to ________________ round.
  20. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  21. The ________________ of the members were all out of tune.
  22. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. object — an aim
  2. rest — what's left
  3. fork — to eat with
  4. fork — in a road
  5. club — a group
  6. spring — of water
  7. straw — dry grass
  8. pop — soda
  9. rest — a break
  10. spell — letters
  11. object — a thing
  12. club — for dancing
  13. straw — to clutch at straws
  14. spring — a coil
  15. spell — a short time
  16. fork — a garden tool
  17. object — to protest
  18. spell — magic
  19. pop — to visit
  20. straw — a straw man
  21. rest — what's left
  22. pop — music
  23. spring — the season
  24. club — for golf

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