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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 116 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. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  3. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  4. Males and females first ________________ when two years old.
  5. I am seized by an uncontrollable ________________ of sadness.
  6. Have you found your soul ________________?
  7. A lot of friends came to ________________ goodbye to me.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  10. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  11. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  12. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  15. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  16. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  17. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  18. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  19. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  20. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  23. Excuse me, sorry ________________, you haven't got the time have you?
  24. The surfers were looking for the perfect ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. bat — the animal
  3. spring — the season
  4. mate — to breed
  5. wave — a sudden rise
  6. mate — a partner
  7. wave — with your hand
  8. drill — army training
  9. shower — a meteor shower
  10. shower — to wash
  11. kick — in football
  12. club — for dancing
  13. spring — a coil
  14. bat — for baseball
  15. shower — rain
  16. kick — with a leg
  17. drill — a practice
  18. bat — in an idiom
  19. kick — a thrill
  20. drill — the tool
  21. club — a group
  22. spring — of water
  23. mate — a friend
  24. wave — of the sea

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