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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. It's one o'clock ________________.
  3. That was ________________ to happen.
  4. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  5. He rubbed the rust off with a ________________.
  6. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  7. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  8. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  9. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  10. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  11. Tiny blossoms have come out all over the river ________________.
  12. He reached out and took down a small leather ________________ book.
  13. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  14. We walked down the narrow path in single ________________.
  15. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  16. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  17. I'm going to the ________________ to withdraw money.
  18. This ________________ always watches out for its own interests.
  19. The ball is in your ________________.
  20. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  21. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  22. We are ________________ to obey laws.
  23. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  24. The information is stored in a ________________ on my computer.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. sharp — exactly
  3. bound — certain
  4. drill — a practice
  5. file — a tool
  6. spring — the season
  7. spring — of water
  8. sharp — clever
  9. drill — the tool
  10. sharp — with an edge
  11. bank — of a river
  12. bound — tied together
  13. drill — army training
  14. file — a line of people
  15. court — of law
  16. court — of a king
  17. bank — for money
  18. bank — for money
  19. court — for sport
  20. club — a group
  21. club — for golf
  22. bound — obliged
  23. spring — a coil
  24. file — a document

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