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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  3. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  4. A second agreement was made due to the large amount of available ________________.
  5. When are we going to ________________?
  6. The beginning of a sentence starts with a ________________ letter.
  7. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  8. Michael Jackson and Prince changed the history of ________________ music.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. Algeria is a ________________ of gas and oil.
  11. Place the flour, butter and salt into a large clean ________________.
  12. I'm the one who owns all this ________________.
  13. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  14. It's your turn to ________________ the ball down the lane.
  15. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  16. Beijing is the ________________ of China.
  17. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  18. You don't need to ________________ round.
  19. Millions watch the Super ________________ every February.
  20. We're almost out of ________________.
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  23. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  24. He was blown up by a land ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. spring — of water
  3. drill — army training
  4. capital — money
  5. land — to come down
  6. capital — a big letter
  7. drill — the tool
  8. pop — music
  9. club — for dancing
  10. land — a country
  11. bowl — a dish
  12. land — ground
  13. club — a group
  14. bowl — to roll
  15. mine — for digging
  16. capital — a city
  17. mine — belonging to me
  18. pop — to visit
  19. bowl — a football final
  20. pop — soda
  21. spring — a coil
  22. drill — a practice
  23. spring — the season
  24. mine — an explosive

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