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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. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  3. She's very handy with a ________________.
  4. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  5. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  6. The nurse administered an injection to the ________________.
  7. Winning one ________________ isn't the same as dominating a sport.
  8. The band played a military ________________ at the parade.
  9. He works in a ________________ mill.
  10. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  11. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  12. His birthday is in either ________________ or April.
  13. The ________________ was transferred to the cardiology ward.
  14. Atomic bombs are a danger to the human ________________.
  15. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  16. We will have lived in Kyoto for eight years next ________________.
  17. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  18. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  19. In geometry, a flat surface is called a ________________.
  20. The farmer was ________________ with the unruly horse.
  21. The ________________ took off on time.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. Only by prohibiting all nuclear weapons, we can together stop the arms ________________.
  24. The carpenter used a ________________ to smooth the door.

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

Answer key

  1. club — a group
  2. wax — for sculpting
  3. saw — the tool
  4. spring — of water
  5. spring — the season
  6. patient — a sick person
  7. race — a contest
  8. march — music
  9. saw — the tool
  10. spring — a coil
  11. club — for dancing
  12. march — the month
  13. patient — a sick person
  14. race — humankind
  15. wax — to grow
  16. march — the month
  17. saw — past of 'see'
  18. wax — in the ear
  19. plane — in geometry
  20. patient — calm and waiting
  21. plane — an aircraft
  22. club — for golf
  23. race — the arms race
  24. plane — a tool

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