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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. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  4. The speedboat left a long ________________ behind it.
  5. Many English words ________________ from Latin.
  6. I'm currently on the ________________ of directors.
  7. ________________ games are popular in Germany.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. Scientists study ________________ cells to repair damaged tissue.
  10. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  11. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  12. Friends gathered at the ________________ to remember him.
  13. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  14. I didn't ________________ up well this morning.
  15. The big green plant was starting to droop at the ________________.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The captain is giving the order to ________________ the ship.
  19. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  20. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  21. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  22. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  23. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  24. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. spring — the season
  3. present — the time now
  4. wake — a trail
  5. stem — to come from
  6. board — a committee
  7. board — a flat piece
  8. spring — of water
  9. stem — a stem cell
  10. mouse — for a computer
  11. wound — an injury
  12. wake — before a funeral
  13. mouse — the animal
  14. wake — to stop sleeping
  15. stem — of a plant
  16. present — there
  17. wound — an injury
  18. board — to get on
  19. club — for golf
  20. present — a gift
  21. spring — a coil
  22. wound — past of 'wind'
  23. mouse — the animal
  24. club — a group

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