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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: prune · saw · rash · sharp · bass · club · spring · spell

  1. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  2. She's very handy with a ________________.
  3. It's one o'clock ________________.
  4. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  5. I play ________________ in a jazz band.
  6. We ________________ that the plan would end in failure.
  7. We've had a long dry ________________ this summer.
  8. This knife is not ________________ enough.
  9. He asked the witch to reverse the ________________.
  10. Don't do anything ________________.
  11. Turn up the ________________ so we can feel the beat.
  12. I cannot ________________ this tree. It's too high.
  13. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  14. The fisherman caught a huge ________________.
  15. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  16. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  17. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  18. A ________________ is just a dried plum.
  19. How do you ________________ your surname?
  20. Do not ________________ roses in the fall.
  21. He works in a ________________ mill.
  22. The party suffered for the ________________ of party-switching.
  23. He's quite ________________, isn't he?
  24. I seem to be developing a ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. club — for dancing
  2. saw — the tool
  3. sharp — exactly
  4. spring — a coil
  5. bass — the instrument
  6. saw — past of 'see'
  7. spell — a short time
  8. sharp — with an edge
  9. spell — magic
  10. rash — hasty
  11. bass — low music
  12. prune — to trim
  13. spring — the season
  14. bass — the fish
  15. spring — of water
  16. club — for golf
  17. club — a group
  18. prune — the fruit
  19. spell — letters
  20. prune — to trim
  21. saw — the tool
  22. rash — a series
  23. sharp — clever
  24. rash — on the skin

Multiple-meaning words list

Tick up to 10 words to build a worksheet with just those words.

Make a worksheet (0 words)

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