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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. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. I've got to change the light ________________.
  4. The ________________ was so hot, it burned my tongue.
  5. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  6. I like to ________________ a cookie in coffee.
  7. It always has to be a ________________ man with them.
  8. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  9. The goat rested comfortably on a soft bed of ________________.
  10. A drowning man will clutch at a ________________.
  11. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  12. They watched the sun ________________ below the horizon.
  13. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  14. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  15. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. He hit the ball with his ________________.
  18. I haven't touched a tennis ________________ in years.
  19. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  20. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  21. Our cat is sitting in the apple tree, and the birds are making a ________________.
  22. Plant the tulip ________________ before the first frost.
  23. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  24. The light ________________ burned out.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — of water
  2. club — for golf
  3. bulb — for light
  4. dip — a sauce
  5. club — a group
  6. dip — to dunk
  7. straw — a straw man
  8. spring — the season
  9. straw — dry grass
  10. straw — to clutch at straws
  11. bass — the fish
  12. dip — to sink
  13. wax — in the ear
  14. bass — low music
  15. spring — a coil
  16. club — for dancing
  17. racket — for tennis
  18. racket — for tennis
  19. bass — the instrument
  20. wax — for sculpting
  21. racket — a loud noise
  22. bulb — of a plant
  23. wax — to grow
  24. bulb — for light

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