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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. When are we going to ________________?
  4. There's no middle ________________.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  8. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  9. The ________________ was covered with snow, as far as the eye could see.
  10. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  11. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  12. The office ________________ worked quickly and efficiently to resolve the problem.
  13. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  14. Add some ________________ pepper to it.
  15. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  16. It's hotel ________________. Please let me in.
  17. The old man leaned on his ________________.
  18. Biology is a ________________ of science.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. Our bank has a ________________ near the station.
  21. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  22. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  23. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  24. He chopped down the ________________ with an ax.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. land — to come down
  4. ground — a position
  5. spring — a coil
  6. spring — of water
  7. rule — a law
  8. land — ground
  9. ground — the earth
  10. club — for dancing
  11. trunk — of a car
  12. staff — employees
  13. rule — to rule out
  14. ground — crushed
  15. land — a country
  16. staff — employees
  17. staff — a stick
  18. branch — a division
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. branch — of a bank
  21. spring — the season
  22. rule — government
  23. trunk — of an elephant
  24. branch — of a tree

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