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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. We ________________ up on opposing sides.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  4. This looks like a gunshot ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  7. The ball hit the back of the ________________.
  8. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  9. Is the royal ________________ prepared for the journey?
  10. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. I've got the luggage in my ________________.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. What was your ________________ profit last year?
  15. Have you met the new head ________________?
  16. He took the fish out of the ________________.
  17. It's not a deep ________________. It's just a scratch.
  18. The ________________ told me I needed to practice harder.
  19. The tree's ________________ was scarred by lightning strikes.
  20. The elephant has a huge ________________.
  21. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  22. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  23. How do you ________________ your surname?
  24. He is an ace ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. wound — past of 'wind'
  2. club — for golf
  3. spring — a coil
  4. wound — an injury
  5. spring — of water
  6. spell — magic
  7. net — in sport
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. coach — pulled by horses
  10. pitcher — a jug
  11. club — for dancing
  12. trunk — of a car
  13. spring — the season
  14. net — after costs
  15. coach — a trainer
  16. net — for catching
  17. wound — an injury
  18. coach — a trainer
  19. trunk — of a tree
  20. trunk — of an elephant
  21. club — a group
  22. spell — a short time
  23. spell — letters
  24. pitcher — in baseball

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