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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: spring · scale · stick · club · hand · pit · squash · rule

  1. He hasn't even shaken my ________________.
  2. My rich neighbors belong to a private golf ________________.
  3. Speak softly and carry a big ________________.
  4. Do you need a ________________ with that?
  5. Will civil ________________ and democracy continue in Algeria?
  6. I'd like to play a game of ________________.
  7. Later, his shop becomes a ________________ with young dancers.
  8. There's a broken ________________ in the bed.
  9. The president vowed to ________________ the mutiny.
  10. I belonged to the harmonica ________________ in my high school days.
  11. Jarno Trulli was disqualified for passing a red light at the ________________ exit.
  12. The chairman did not ________________ out the possibility of a disagreement.
  13. This is the first time I've ever walked with a ________________.
  14. Nobody expected a disaster on this ________________.
  15. Have you ever swallowed an apricot ________________?
  16. Cut the butternut ________________ into one-inch cubes.
  17. I got dealt a bad ________________.
  18. The kitchen ________________ is next to the microwave.
  19. The hotel is built around a mineral ________________.
  20. The flowers bloom in the ________________.
  21. Every pianist practices the C major ________________.
  22. Boris sat near the fire ________________.
  23. Fiction is obliged to ________________ to possibilities. Truth isn't.
  24. Remember our ________________: no talking to strangers, no matter what.

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

Answer key

  1. hand — part of the body
  2. club — for golf
  3. stick — a piece of wood
  4. hand — help
  5. rule — government
  6. squash — the sport
  7. club — for dancing
  8. spring — a coil
  9. squash — to crush
  10. club — a group
  11. pit — in a race
  12. rule — to rule out
  13. stick — a piece of wood
  14. scale — size or range
  15. pit — a fruit stone
  16. squash — the vegetable
  17. hand — in cards
  18. scale — for weighing
  19. spring — of water
  20. spring — the season
  21. scale — in music
  22. pit — a hole
  23. stick — to attach or keep to
  24. rule — a law

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