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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. I had a ________________ with my boss today.
  3. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  4. The girl drawing a picture in the first ________________ is my niece.
  5. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  6. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  7. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  10. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  11. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  12. Are you a huge ________________ of trains?
  13. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  14. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  15. Can you turn the ________________ on?
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  18. I am not a ________________ of shrimp.
  19. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We had to ________________ the boat across the lake.
  23. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  24. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. row — a quarrel
  3. spring — of water
  4. row — a line
  5. march — music
  6. mine — belonging to me
  7. capital — money
  8. mine — for digging
  9. mine — an explosive
  10. club — for golf
  11. stick — to attach or keep to
  12. fan — a supporter
  13. capital — a city
  14. stick — a piece of wood
  15. fan — to cool the air
  16. club — for dancing
  17. stick — a piece of wood
  18. fan — a supporter
  19. march — the month
  20. spring — the season
  21. spring — a coil
  22. row — to paddle
  23. march — the month
  24. capital — a big letter

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