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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  7. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  12. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  13. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  14. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  15. He is an ace ________________.
  16. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  17. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  18. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  19. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  20. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  21. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  22. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  23. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  24. Should I buy a wireless ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. pitcher — a jug
  3. club — for golf
  4. track — a song
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. mouse — the animal
  7. root — of a plant
  8. spring — a coil
  9. root — the cause
  10. club — a group
  11. hand — in cards
  12. stem — a stem cell
  13. stem — to come from
  14. track — a path
  15. pitcher — in baseball
  16. hand — help
  17. spring — of water
  18. spring — the season
  19. root — of a word
  20. stem — of a plant
  21. track — to keep track
  22. hand — part of the body
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. mouse — for a computer

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