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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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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: club · chest · lie · track · spring · kick · rule · wax

  1. He keeps ________________ of his days.
  2. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  3. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  4. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  5. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  6. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  7. What's the best way to remove ear ________________?
  8. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  9. The muddy ________________ descends to a valley.
  10. Is it always a sin to tell a ________________?
  11. I get a ________________ out of her cheerful personality.
  12. The museum has ________________ figures of famous people.
  13. She laid her head on my ________________ so she could listen to my heartbeat.
  14. The moon will ________________ and wane.
  15. They were given a penalty ________________ just minutes from the end.
  16. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  17. This is my favorite ________________ on the album.
  18. The hunter does not ________________ down with the prey.
  19. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.
  20. A ________________ is a veil over the lips.
  21. The lid of the ________________ creaked open.
  22. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  23. One ________________ from a giraffe's hind leg is enough to kill a lion.
  24. I felt an uncomfortable tightness in my ________________.

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

Answer key

  1. track — to keep track
  2. spring — a coil
  3. club — for dancing
  4. spring — the season
  5. spring — of water
  6. rule — government
  7. wax — in the ear
  8. club — a group
  9. track — a path
  10. lie — an untruth
  11. kick — a thrill
  12. wax — for sculpting
  13. chest — of your body
  14. wax — to grow
  15. kick — in football
  16. rule — to rule out
  17. track — a song
  18. lie — to recline
  19. rule — a law
  20. lie — an untruth
  21. chest — a box
  22. club — for golf
  23. kick — with a leg
  24. chest — of your body

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