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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. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  3. Did you ________________ the meat?
  4. We need to address the ________________ of the problem.
  5. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  6. Wood does not conduct electric ________________.
  7. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  8. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  9. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  10. My father caught me by the ________________.
  11. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  12. Spring is a pleasant ________________.
  13. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  14. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  15. They retained the League and Cup in his second ________________.
  16. Let us try to swim against the ________________.
  17. The ________________ of a dandelion is edible, too.
  18. Here is a list of ________________ job openings.
  19. She sat on the ________________ of the sofa.
  20. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  21. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  22. The ________________ of 'teacher' is 'teach'.
  23. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  24. I'd give my right ________________ to be ambidextrous.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — a group
  3. season — to add flavour
  4. root — the cause
  5. spring — a coil
  6. current — electric
  7. mine — belonging to me
  8. mine — for digging
  9. club — for dancing
  10. arm — part of the body
  11. mine — an explosive
  12. season — of the year
  13. object — a thing
  14. spring — the season
  15. season — in sport
  16. current — of water
  17. root — of a plant
  18. current — happening now
  19. arm — a part of something
  20. spring — of water
  21. object — an aim
  22. root — of a word
  23. object — to protest
  24. arm — part of the body

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