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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 120 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 muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  2. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  3. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  4. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  5. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  6. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  7. We had a fire ________________ at school today.
  8. The soldiers did ________________ on the parade ground every morning.
  9. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  10. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  11. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  12. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  13. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  14. He was locked up in a ________________.
  15. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  16. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  17. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  18. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  19. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  20. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.
  21. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  22. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  23. I need a ________________ to install the towel rack.
  24. What was your ________________ profit last year?

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

Answer key

  1. track — a path
  2. cell — a phone
  3. safe — out of danger
  4. club — for dancing
  5. wind — to turn a key
  6. spring — of water
  7. drill — a practice
  8. drill — army training
  9. wind — moving air
  10. cell — in biology
  11. net — in sport
  12. track — a song
  13. wind — moving air
  14. cell — in a prison
  15. safe — a strongbox
  16. track — to keep track
  17. club — for golf
  18. club — a group
  19. spring — the season
  20. safe — out of danger
  21. net — for catching
  22. spring — a coil
  23. drill — the tool
  24. net — after costs

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