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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. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  4. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  5. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  6. He is an ace ________________.
  7. We're on a ________________ here.
  8. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  9. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  10. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  11. She's preparing to ________________ her idea to the investors.
  12. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  13. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  14. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  15. The teacher called the ________________ to see who was absent.
  16. Grandma has made a Swiss ________________.
  17. The players ran onto the football ________________.
  18. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. The room was ________________ black, so I couldn't see a thing.
  23. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  24. Fill up this ________________ with water.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. club — for dancing
  3. mouse — the animal
  4. trunk — of a tree
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. pitcher — in baseball
  7. roll — on a roll
  8. mouse — for a computer
  9. trunk — of a car
  10. net — in sport
  11. pitch — a sales talk
  12. trunk — of an elephant
  13. club — for golf
  14. mouse — the animal
  15. roll — a list
  16. roll — a cake
  17. pitch — a sports field
  18. net — for catching
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — a coil
  21. spring — the season
  22. pitch — completely
  23. net — after costs
  24. pitcher — a jug

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