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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.

Words on the sheet
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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: mouse · club · bat · spring · cell · mine

  1. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  2. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  3. I met an old friend of ________________ the other day.
  4. He was locked up in a ________________.
  5. I thought I heard a ________________ in the kitchen.
  6. The ________________ hangs upside down in the cave.
  7. "I don't like games like this," squeaked the ________________.
  8. Tom didn't even ________________ an eye.
  9. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  10. He was blown up by a land ________________.
  11. She's sitting on a gold ________________.
  12. The ________________ was stolen yesterday, along with the balls.
  13. Should I buy a wireless ________________?
  14. Oh no! I wasn't paying attention and left my ________________ phone in the restaurant!
  15. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  16. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. Each ________________ is a complete and highly sophisticated living world in its own right.

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

Answer key

  1. spring — a coil
  2. spring — the season
  3. mine — belonging to me
  4. cell — in a prison
  5. mouse — the animal
  6. bat — the animal
  7. mouse — the animal
  8. bat — in an idiom
  9. club — for golf
  10. mine — an explosive
  11. mine — for digging
  12. bat — for baseball
  13. mouse — for a computer
  14. cell — a phone
  15. club — for dancing
  16. spring — of water
  17. club — a group
  18. cell — in biology

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