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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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Word bank
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Multiple-Meaning Words

Name: ____________________Date: __________

Write the missing word from the word bank in each sentence. Each word is used more than once, with a different meaning each time.

Word bank: pass · wind · spring · club · present · object

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Why would I ________________ to a disabled ramp?
  3. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  4. A valuable ________________ decreases in value if it is damaged.
  5. No doubt you will be able to ________________ the examination.
  6. Did you get a birthday ________________ for him this year?
  7. Thanks to his efforts, he attained his ________________.
  8. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  9. You can't go backstage without a ________________.
  10. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  11. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  12. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  13. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  14. We wanted to take a walk to ________________ the time.
  15. Actually, the ________________ method has plenty of room for improvement.
  16. My partner was ________________ at the birth of our baby.
  17. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  18. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. object — to protest
  3. club — a group
  4. object — a thing
  5. pass — to succeed
  6. present — a gift
  7. object — an aim
  8. club — for dancing
  9. pass — a permit
  10. wind — moving air
  11. spring — the season
  12. wind — moving air
  13. spring — of water
  14. pass — to spend time
  15. present — the time now
  16. present — there
  17. wind — to turn a key
  18. spring — a coil

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