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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 120 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 hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. Heather can grow to a ________________ or so tall.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  5. Jason, who was in ________________ of the project, was dismissed for corruption.
  6. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  7. That was a fun ________________.
  8. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  9. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  10. I have a corn on my right ________________.
  11. Roulette is a ________________ of chance.
  12. The newcomer sat down at the ________________ of the table.
  13. Where can I ________________ my mobile?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  16. The tickets are free of ________________.
  17. The pointer is employed to find upland ________________.
  18. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  19. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  20. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. The flowers bloom in the ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. foot — a measure
  3. club — for golf
  4. kick — in football
  5. charge — in control
  6. kick — a thrill
  7. game — a match
  8. dip — a sauce
  9. dip — to dunk
  10. foot — part of the body
  11. game — a kind of play
  12. foot — the bottom
  13. charge — electricity
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. club — a group
  16. charge — a price
  17. game — wild animals
  18. wind — moving air
  19. wind — moving air
  20. club — for dancing
  21. spring — a coil
  22. dip — to sink
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. spring — the season

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