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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. Lukas kept the diamonds in a locked ________________.
  3. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  6. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  7. I seem to be developing a ________________.
  8. David sat on the ________________.
  9. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  10. A smaller training pitch was installed beside the main ________________.
  11. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  12. I can't ________________ this cold.
  13. The train was so full that I had to ________________ all the while.
  14. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  15. The ceiling is a plaster ________________ painted with stars.
  16. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. In jazz, ________________ was gradually being replaced by bebop.
  21. Don't do anything ________________.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. Champaud competed in the parallel bars, ________________, and pommel horse events.
  24. The coach helped Matthew straighten out his golf ________________, improving his game.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. vault — a safe
  3. wound — an injury
  4. club — for dancing
  5. club — for golf
  6. spring — a coil
  7. rash — on the skin
  8. swing — to play on
  9. spring — the season
  10. stand — for spectators
  11. prune — the fruit
  12. stand — to bear
  13. stand — on your feet
  14. rash — a series
  15. vault — an arched ceiling
  16. prune — to trim
  17. wound — an injury
  18. prune — to trim
  19. spring — of water
  20. swing — music
  21. rash — hasty
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. vault — in gymnastics
  24. swing — in golf

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