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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: nail · prune · wind · bear · pitcher · club

  1. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  2. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  3. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  4. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  5. Fill up this ________________ with water.
  6. He drove in a ________________ with his hammer.
  7. The ________________ went through the wall.
  8. The ________________ will go to the well once too often.
  9. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  10. Many happy returns to all who ________________ the name of a flower!
  11. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  12. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  13. The little girl was crying for the teddy ________________.
  14. He is an ace ________________.
  15. A black ________________ roamed the forest.
  16. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  17. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  18. She broke her ________________ while washing the dishes.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for golf
  2. club — for dancing
  3. prune — the fruit
  4. wind — moving air
  5. pitcher — a jug
  6. nail — for a hammer
  7. nail — for a hammer
  8. pitcher — a jug
  9. prune — to trim
  10. bear — to put up with
  11. wind — to turn a key
  12. prune — to trim
  13. bear — the animal
  14. pitcher — in baseball
  15. bear — the animal
  16. club — a group
  17. wind — moving air
  18. nail — on a finger

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