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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. He's taking a ________________ right now.
  4. A trickle of blood ran from her ________________ down her cheek.
  5. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  6. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  7. The ________________ change colour in autumn.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. The dagger's metal was presumably from the same meteor ________________.
  11. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  12. He always ________________ the window open while he sleeps.
  13. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  14. We took cover from the thunder ________________.
  15. The train ________________ at six o'clock.
  16. When was this ________________ built?
  17. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  18. Your daily life is your ________________ and your religion.
  19. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  20. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  21. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  22. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  23. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  24. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. club — a group
  3. shower — to wash
  4. temple — side of the head
  5. pit — a hole
  6. club — for dancing
  7. leaves — of a tree
  8. spring — the season
  9. club — for golf
  10. shower — a meteor shower
  11. drill — a practice
  12. leaves — lets stay
  13. spring — a coil
  14. shower — rain
  15. leaves — to go away
  16. temple — a place of worship
  17. drill — the tool
  18. temple — a place of worship
  19. drill — army training
  20. straw — to clutch at straws
  21. straw — a straw man
  22. pit — in a race
  23. straw — dry grass
  24. pit — a fruit stone

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