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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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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: spring · wind · court · cell · safe · club

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The strong ________________ blew his hat off.
  3. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  4. The ________________ found him guilty of stealing money.
  5. He was locked up in a ________________.
  6. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  7. He has no idea where the ________________ is.
  8. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  9. It was raining hard, and to make things worse, the ________________ was beginning to rise.
  10. The ball is in your ________________.
  11. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.
  12. When a clown is made king, the ________________ becomes a circus.
  13. Is it ________________ for us to be here?
  14. He sold his goods at a loss to ________________ up his business.
  15. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  16. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  17. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  18. Tom was very happy that his son returned home ________________ and sound.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. wind — moving air
  3. club — for golf
  4. court — of law
  5. cell — in a prison
  6. club — a group
  7. safe — a strongbox
  8. spring — of water
  9. wind — moving air
  10. court — for sport
  11. cell — in biology
  12. court — of a king
  13. safe — out of danger
  14. wind — to turn a key
  15. cell — a phone
  16. club — for dancing
  17. spring — the season
  18. safe — out of danger

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